Legacies
by Bailey Huber
Summary: Been working on massive edits. Hopefully it's easier to follow the 2nd time around. How does one learn to hide from their family history?
1. Home

Starfleet Headquarters

Starfleet's Senior Admiral stood sipping a cup of tea, staring out into the San Francisco Bay from her office window. She could be doing the same thing at home. Even the Admiral knew she should retire-she just couldn't bring herself to do it just yet.

"Ma'am, Admiral Paris is here to see you, he says it's urgent." The latest young officer who chose the term of torture spoke to his boss. Her assistants never lasted more than a few months. Her closest circle liked to joke that she needed an android to handle her temper. "Shall I send him in?"

"Please do so Ensign." Mackenzie Reed Archer barely turned to acknowledge her youngest son's presence in the room. Their relationship had been strained since he was a cadet, it was one of those things that just was. "What's so urgent this time Owen?"

"A transwarp conduit opened up one light-year away." Owen Paris watched as she banged her head against the wall. The Admiral watched the stress creep into his mother's body. He thought about dashing out of the room when he still had a chance. He had learned early on to fear the temper that came with her command persona. A four star Admiral running—the irony was classic. "We sent every ship we had on the defensive."

She turned around with interest now. "I wonder what you people think sometimes. Why would you send every ship in the sector to guard it? We don't need another Wolf 359." She brushed a loose piece of white hair out of her eyes.

"We've come a long way in the last decade, we know where their sensitive spots now. There was no need for the defense." The former commandment raised an eyebrow at him. "Voyager blew them up from behind. They're home and seem to be in one piece."

"He's changed Owen, I doubt he's the angry young man he was ten years ago." Mackenzie paused and let out an exasperated sigh. "He's my grandson—there's no doubt about that. We all pressured him as much as you did. If anything he'll be back on track with his career in a matter of months. He's proven himself capable of having his rank and position back. More than anything we need him now." Mackenzie looked at him with a mother's glare. "Annika?"

The Carolina Coast

"Katie?" Admiral Brian Rosen leaned against the deck of the beach house. "We need to talk."

"What this time Bri?" Kaitlin Reed-Archer turned around to face him. The stress of the last few weeks had taken its toll on the retired admiral. "Can I have at least some peace to contemplate everything."

The physician walked up the stairs to the roof deck. "Owen needs you at headquarters. There's been an incident. He needs your input."

"Voyager?" There was only one incident that would pull her back to headquarters for their self imposed retirement exile. Kaitlin turned with interest as he nodded. "Rene said she hasn't had it easy. She adjusted to life on that tin can, but adjusting to life here will be a big difference."

"You'll do fine." Brian reassured her. "There's a reason Nikki and I signed the paperwork the way we did. You two need the distraction. Plus we just got rid of Melanie, we don't need to deal with a moody adolescent again for at least 15 years."

"I don't know if I'm capable of it." She sighed with the thought of having her granddaughter home. "Who knows how scarred she is? Did Tom actually give her full stories?"

"It's Tom we're talking about, I doubt he scared her away fully. The only thing that can scare her here is your cooking." The sarcasm kicked in. "Then again, she might actually enjoy emergency field rations."

"My cooking isn't nearly as bad as my mother's." Kaitlin smiled. "I mean I at least know how to use a stove. My kids weren't raised on take-out and emergency field rations when Jake was out in the field."

"Turning it on is not the same a cooking Katie." He laughed. "Their holding transport for us. Grab an overnight bag. I know you still keep the emergency one packed and ready."

Jupiter Station

Captain Maura Paris awoke from her slumber as her husband raised the lights in their quarters. "This better be good. You're interrupting the first solid block of sleep I've had in three months." She groggily glared at him.

"Lack of sleep goes with the 4th Pip Maura." Todd Jackson stood over her with a wide grin on his face. "You'll learn to adjust. It's not like you slept that much during your residency."

"That was a decade ago. And you didn't spend the last 6 weeks on a shuttle craft." The Psychiatrist sat fully up in bed. She dramatically rolled out her neck and stretched out her shoulders. If he was going to interrupt her coma, she might as well loosen up her muscles. "What are they bringing in?"

"Voyager." He kept the grin on his face, knowing his wife would come to the realization of what he had said in a few seconds. "I'm going to be insanely busy with the medicals. You're going to need to do this one, you can play shrink later on."

Maura pulled her husband down to her level. Part of her had dreaded this day for the past few years. She wasn't ready to deal with the tantrum and the aftermath that returned with her brother. "If I didn't love you, I'd report your for hazing Captain Jackson. I'm sure you not allowing me to sleep fully qualifies as an incident. So are you going to make him address you as sir?"

"Hell yes. Why should we not have fun with it." He kissed his wife quickly on the cheek. Todd knew what the look of worry was about, it wasn't like he couldn't fight Tom on it. He knew the earful was coming. "I doubt his status as Lieutenant will last long, I'm going to take as much opportunity as possible."

"Not as much fun as naming our first born Ensign Thomas would have been." She smiled. "What are we going to do about it? I mean do we really need him to come barging in and take over? Not for nothing, we've been busting our chops at this a whole lot longer than he ever did."

"We need him. Though, technically I would still have rank on him." Todd laughed as he pulled her out of bed. "Not like he would let me get far with it. Probably give me a lecture about how I would still be a Lieutenant if it wasn't for him. Then the guilt trip. You know there will be a guilt trip about us."

"Remember, I'm more evil. I mean, there had to be some unnatural force that I used to get you to marry me. He always trusted you more than he trusted me. At least on some things." Maura let her serious side show. "But then again, if he was living the life he never lived, who knows. Do we know yet?"

"About two hours ago. Which means you and I are officially on Red alert." He rolled his eyes. "You ready for that guilt trip?"

"She's been giving it to me for the last 15 years. You would think she had more important things to worry about. Plus it's not like she doesn't have two other daughters." She smiled. "A grandchild she can hold and peace treaties signed, I'm going to be in hell for the next six months. Captain Boy Wonder just couldn't simply come home quietly. He had to bring a kid with him."

London

The head of Section 31 looked up from her desk to see her Superior standing squarely over her. "Do you have something against announcing yourself like a normal person?"

The Admiral smiled at her. "Of course I do Grandma. It's part of my utmost personality to sneak up on people. Worked amazingly well as I had a teenager. It was impossible for her to successfully sneak in after curfew."

The ageless op once again looked at her superior. "You called me Grandma?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming Voyager is back, and there's a newborn on board. Though I must say I'm way too young to be a Grandmother."

"That's what happens when you have a child as a teenager followed by massive amounts of corrective surgery." The director cracked a laugh. "Though, it's not like you're going to be babysitting or changing diapers. I'm just concerned that he's going to be too distracted to get back to work."

"He won't be." The Op sipped her coffee. "It's in his blood, we'll get him fully available to work in a matter of weeks."


	2. Kenzie

San Francisco, 2264

"Grandpa Dan!" The five year old bounded down the steps. "Did you hear Daddy's going to become an Admiral just like you?"

Admiral Daniel Reed bent down to pick up his granddaughter. It was kind of nice this time around spoiling a grandchild. He had discovered that being a grandfather when all your children were grown a lot easier than raising a child as your oldest raised her family. "I sure did Princess. Did Mommy tell you I was coming over for dinner?"

"She's making eggplant." The young girl made a face. "I personally don't like it. I think it's yucky."

"Your father learned to like it." Reed smiled at her. His grandson was distant and cold half the time. She was the polar opposite of her brother. "So how's kindergarten going?"

"They haven't taught me to fly a shuttle yet." Mackenzie pouted. "I mean isn't knowing how to fly a ship basic knowledge?"

"I'll teach you this summer at the beach house. Is that fair enough?" The Admiral smiled; there was no question that she was her grandmother. His daughter regularly gave him an earful about it. Ellery did not want another version of her mother, she was adamant about it. "You'll pick it up in no time. Though I don't know how happy your father would be if I taught you how to fly at six. I taught Eu when she was about eight, and Aunt Ellie yelled at me for months."

"Brandon didn't learn how to fly until last year. I mean what type of 1st year cadet only learned how to fly the year before?" She looked at her grandfather in awe. "I want massive flying experience before I start flight school. Plus, Daddy won't let me even go near shuttle that Eu is flying, he says she's too wreckless. And it's a wonder that the Yorktown hasn't crashed with her in command yet."

"That's because Eu can fly circles around your father. We'll worry about that crazy idea when you get a little closer to flight school and a commission." Reed rolled his eyes at her ambition. "I think you're going to need to be able to see the cockpit to learn how to fly. At this point you might just be a little too tiny for a regulation shuttle, but we'll see what's available. Is that a fair enough deal?"

"I guess so." The tiny red head smiled. "But what if I'm never big enough to work the controls of the shuttle?"

"We'll worry about that after you become a grown up." The Admiral let his smile widen. "And that's a long long long way away Kenzie."

San Francisco, 2267

The seven year old sat curled up in the swing that her father had installed just a few weeks earlier. She had wanted to retreat from the crowds downstairs that were telling her that she had been brave during the service, she wanted to be Mackenzie, not Brandon's poor little sister.

The Admiral walked into the back room and stooped down to his granddaughter's level. Reed just looked at her and smiled. "You're worrying your mother Princess. You sure you don't want to come back downstairs?"

"No." Archer had turned to tears. "It's no fair, stupid Brandon crashes his shuttle, now I have to suffer through all those people. No one asked me how I feel?"

"I know it's tough Kenzie." He wiped the tears from her face. "But it's what you have to do. You don't even need to smile when you go down, everyone will understand if you cry. I know you don't want to, but it's okay to be sad today." Reed picked up his granddaughter and held her. "Come on back downstairs, Uncle Quinn said he would sneak into Mom's kitchen and make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's better than any of the stuffy catering food. It's what he used to do for Charlotte whenever she had a bad day. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." She tried to smile. "But what should I say if people ask how I'm feeling?"

"That you're sad." He carried her down the stairs. "It is the truth; they all know how much you loved your brother. Ignore what Daddy says, it's okay, it's totally okay princess. No one cares if you don't smile and tell them how you really feel. Plus Amanda said you can go sit with her and she'll hold your hand for as long as you need to."

"Okay, no one seems to care that I'm sad. They're all too busy comforting Mom and Dad."

New York, 2268

"She's impossible. Absolutely impossible! I don't know how we're going to survive her teenage years." Jonathon sighed over his burger. "I mean how difficult can one little girl be?"

"She's Maggie, there's no question she is your mother's granddaughter." Mayweather smiled at her son-in-law. "The only thing you can do is give her space, how soon is Kat back?"

"Three weeks." The Admiral sighed. "I really don't know how she does it Grace. I'm not cut out to be a parent, at least not to that emotional pre-teen."

"Mackenzie just has a stubborn personality. She'll always be stubborn and the last two years have been tough, she felt it as much as you and Kat did." The author smiled warmly. "She adored him Jon, Brandon was the big brother she worshipped. You weren't around to see that. I never saw such a worried kid as she was the day we sat at Starfleet medical waiting to see if they could save him. It's not like we don't pressure her enough, now she's the one, the poor nine year old that everyone know is going to be the fleet simply because 6 of her 8 great-grandparents were staff on a little ship that could."

"She's my daughter, I want her to be happy, and I want her to grow up to live the life we want her to live." He composed himself. "I just hope she doesn't make things even more difficult than they already are."

"She will. That's your mother in her—stubborn to the core." She reached for a french fry. "Hoshi never did anything simply either, you seem to forget that at times your grandmother could be fully unbearable. And Ellie basically raised you—you have been subject to that temper. Kenzie's stubbornness is purely genetic. Unfortunately, our practical genes seemed to skip right over her. Not like my father was ever the practical type either. He liked to believe he was, but he grew up on ship, no one that grows up on ship ever comes out sane."

London, 2274

"Sit." Mayweather barked at her protégé. "I read your latest report, dammit your good Derrick."

"Coming from you that's a major compliment." The lieutenant smiled. "I knew you would appreciate the effort. Does he know about the baby?"

"From what I've gathered yes, I'm just worried with the ruckus he's been raising the last few weeks. The son of a bitch is one hell of a motivator. I know Jon and Kat don't know. Charlotte knew better than to say anything to them, she felt it was best we look into it." Mayweather reached for her Bailey's. "Then again, Charlotte's her self-declared overprotective surrogate big sister. Exactly what my granddaughter needs."

"I know you worry about Mackenzie, but I think she has a solid enough head on her shoulders ma'am." The operative smiled. "Her entrance exam scores said it all; the girl is a pure genius."

"So was her other grandmother. And you know how that story goes." Mayweather smirked. "I'm just hoping Maggie's psychotic gene is somewhat diluted in her. It is in Ellie's girls. Jon lost his mother before he got the chance to know her, he doesn't need his granddaughter to go through the same thing."

"Can I assume her parents don't know about the baby yet?" Derrick sighed. "There hasn't been any buzz around Starfleet Headquarters, and you know Admiral Reed-Archer's pregnant teenage daughter would be a huge thing for the gossip mongers."

"Not to my knowledge. I would've heard about it by now. Even if Kat wouldn't say anything to me—she would've said something and it would've come back to me somewhere along the line." She sighed. "I wasn't super surprised, but still even for Kenzie this is rebelling in excess. She's a tough kid. I blame it on her genes. You have me, Dan, and Maggie. My Greg's sanity stood nothing compared to Maggie's insanity."

San Francisco, 2274

"Is there a reason for your mother sitting hysterical downstairs?" Jonathon leaned against his teenager daughter's bedroom door. "What on earth did you do this time Kenzie, she hasn't been this upset since your brother died?"

"I won't be going to the Academy; I've won that war Dad." She stood up to face her father. "This will keep me out of the Academy. Hell it'll probably keep me from even getting a commission as an officer."

"You have too much of a brain to be that stupid." Jonathon stared down his daughter then brought his eyes to her torso. "Or at least I thought you had too much of a brain to be that stupid. For goodness sakes Mackenzie you're only sixteen."

"What do you think I was too smart for Dad?" She stared him right back. "I didn't get criminally charged with anything. I'm only pregnant, it doesn't mean I can't go to a good college and have a career that isn't Starfleet. I will make my life work the best as possible."

"I know you will Peanut." Jonathon sighed. "Are you even going to tell me who the father is? Or at this point do you even know? How long until I'm a grandfather anyway?"

"According to Mom, I'm 23 weeks pregnant. So I think that's about 4 months or so until I have the baby." She sighed. "I mean Grandpa raised you on his own. I mean if he could do it, I can do it. I know I'm not nearly as close to being established and experienced as Grandpa, but I can wing it."

"Grandpa had Aunt Ellie, and yes she wasn't much older than you are now. Aunt Ellie has a lot different personality than you do. She could handle mothering young." Jonathon cracked a laugh thinking of how tough his sister could be. "That's the main sign you're too young to be a parent, you don't wing raising a child Kenzie. Mom and I will help you out, after she calms down she'll be a happily doting grandmother."

San Francisco, 2275

She looked her over then adjusted the bow on her daughter's dress so it was straight. The Harvard student then adjusted her own skirt. "Now we're ready to go Katie." Mackenzie bent down and gracefully picked up her year old daughter. She didn't want to look pulled together and dignified today; the young mother was not in the mood to put on the act. She nodded at the young officers as she walked up the steps of the Headquarters chapel, her baby girl protectively clinging to her hip. If she could have avoided it she would have. Mackenzie didn't want the lecture from her parents, she just wished it wasn't so public.

Mayweather came up next to her only grandchild. "Let me take Katie." She hugged the two of them, holding back her own grief over losing her closest confident. "It's not going to be an easy day Kenzie. Dan would be telling you that it would be okay not to smile today. Allow yourself to grieve publicly kiddo. You did when you were little with Gamp, you're not fleet—you know you can cry. I know you're going to say it was different, but really it isn't. Ignore the pomp when it comes down with it you're here to say goodbye to your grandfather. That's the only reason you're here."

"I know, but you and I also both know I have 3 times the brain of any of those officers paying their respects Gamma. I don't need them to think I couldn't whip their asses in every category." She sighed and handed over her daughter. "Plus, I'm not fleet yet, I'm still contemplating going in after I finish Harvard. I mean I obviously have the brains to be a good officer."

"Today's not about contemplating. It's about saying goodbye."

New Berlin, 2280

"No one should be able to fly like that Ensign." Mackenzie looked up from her padd to see the Lieutenant Commander standing above her. "They're tempted to fail you because you're too good Kenzie. The fleet doesn't need another Maggie Archer, you and I both know that."

"Very funny Harli." She stared up at the instructor. "So I can fly, it's not like it's a major accomplishment. I don't need a medal of outstanding service because of it. Let me worry about my graduate degree more than a flying medal. It's simply genetic, the fact that I know how to use the gift is the accomplishment."

"You were more fun when you were a cranky and crazy teenager." Charlotte Tucker plopped down in the chair across the table from her baby cousin. "Making it a point to outshine Brandon is not the answer to happiness kiddo. It's not healthy, it's not right; he's been dead for sixteen years. Your parents don't hold you up to that standard. None of us do."

"In case you haven't noticed, my brother didn't become a parent at 17. Nor did he even remotely have the rebellious streak that I so happily showcase." She pushed a loose hair off her face. "I'm doing this because I want to do it, not to please Dad. The fact that he loves the fact that I'm excelling is just icing on the cake. I have to carry on the family legacy. I'm not going to be the one to crash it."

"My grandparents, I spent a summer when I was a teenager with them on Vulcan; Dad thought it would be good if I got to see that side of my heritage. It was difficult, I was contemplating if fleet was me or not I remember one morning walking out to the garden and my great-grandmother, she was sitting there. Do you know what she told me?" The engineer smiled. "That I was not my brothers, I was not my father, and by all means for all that was good in the universe I was thankfully not my grandparents. That she knew I had this thing for family pride, but it was the most logical thing for me to take it and throw it out a window. That if she had done nothing but what her family always did and not allowed herself to grow, Vulcan would be a military state, the UFP would not exist, and she wouldn't have had the eight years she had with her soul mate. How she would've never seen herself having a human best friend with whom she would share a beloved grandson. She never expected to that she would grieve upon the loss of a baby she never thought she could love."

"And the lesson learned would be?" Mackenzie looked at her cousin. "Because the last time I checked our fathers were both born to the same crazy psychotic woman whose life they've totally classified.

"Enlightenment and self growth was a good thing, it was something I should strive for. She died the next week. I was quite a sight at the Vulcan funeral, the crying hysterical human girl who's Vulcan cousins did not understand or get at all." The instructor turned to walk towards her office. "Plus it's about time we start writing history our way, I'm sick and tired of hearing about an antiquated engine and how it created a vast stellar alliance."

San Francisco 2283

Derrick Paris nervously rose when the young ensign gave the word. He had been called in to meet with not one but two senior fleet admirals two weeks before. When they had temporarily relieved him of his post aboard the Enterprise he had started to panic, Brass did not just randomly move first officers for the hell of it. Captain Decker had told him it was nothing to worry about, but still he had twiddled his thumbs for the last half hour.

"Commander Paris, please have a seat." Jonathon pointed to a seat. When the 3rd Generation Fleet Admiral made a gesture any officer did it automatically. The young lawyer was no exception "Admiral Robbins and I have called you here for a specific request. You can turn us down, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Yes sir." Derrick tried to hide his nervousness. "Though to be honest with you, if it's a judicial post, I'm really not interested. I gave up practicing law for a reason."

"Do me a favor take a deep breath and count to 10, you're way too nervous and fidgety." Eunice Robbins leaned back in her chair. "It's been decided that the fleet needs to work on developing new technologies. Your file has been extensively reviewed; you are our first choice to lead the team Commander."

"As you are aware we have recently finished the facilities on Mars, you and your team will be based out of there." Jonathon informed the younger officer. "We're starting you out with your engineers and operations; we'll worry about giving you the test pilots at a later date. I'm assuming you're accepting Commander."

"Of course sir, when can I being working on this?" Derrick let out an inner sigh. "I'm assuming my transfer off the Enterprise will be handled then. The main reason I joined the fleet was for a sense of adventure, I can't possibly pass up this opportunity."

"It's different from being on ship, but it's an almost euphoric experience some days." Eunice looked at him. "And believe it or not, your law degree will actually be helpful. These teams need a grounded commander who'll keep them from doing anything uber reckless."

San Francisco

"It's a permanent post." Jonathon sat across from his daughter in the officer's club. "You work 3 days then have off 4. You can be at home with Katie."

"Is this one of your-you need to accept full responsibility for your life Mackenzie tangents." The lieutenant smiled as she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Because last I check Katie has turned out pretty decent for being the child of an unwed teenager."

"My granddaughter needs stability not having her mother constantly off on some diplomatic mission." Jonathon looked at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "Plus, it'll give you the chance to actually get schoolwork done. You yourself even said you need more time in the library."

"What exactly is this position Dad?" Mackenzie raised her father an equal look back. "There's no such thing as a diplo position that allows for that type of schedule. Am I going to be?"

"Yes you will be." The father beamed with pride. "It's the development team out of Utopia. We need a pilot that can fly anything."

"I would be able to commute?" The graduate student looked on with interest. "I could be home with Katie for dinner nightly?"

"3 days on means quarter up on the station." The father smiled back. "Your days off you can be at home. Or Katie's school plays or anything else that fits your lifestyle as Mom and student."

"I owe you and Mom." She sighed. "I couldn't do it without you two."

"One mistake doesn't make you a bad person peanut." He squeezed his daughter's hand. "Plus with as career driven as you are, Katie might be our only chance to be grandparents."

Utopia Plantia, 2284

"Spill it Charlotte." Commander Derrick Paris stared at his engineer. "I want to know everything about her."

"Is that an order?" Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Tucker raised an eyebrow at her commanding officer. "Or is it a request Derrick? Logically, I don't have to tell you all about Mackenzie's quirks and peculiarities."

"It's an order. You're going Vulcan on me, so please don't tell me she's that bad." He ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I would like to know about the pilot they're sending me before she arrives."

"Mackenzie will make Admiral by 40. She graduated with Honors from Harvard's Diplomatic Relations program, then went on to finish 1st in her flight school class." Charlotte paused. "She walks into a room and every male neck suffers from whiplash turning around to look at her. In short she is as perfect as any female could possibly get, yet she doesn't seem to notice. Hell, she can make Eunice seem like a talentless mediocre officer."

"Brass just sent a message, Lieutenant Archer's shuttle will be arriving in a few minutes, I didn't want to be totally shocked when she disembarked." Derrick looked at Charlotte. "But something tells me I still will be."

"Oh believe me you will be." She smiled back warmly. "I assume you've assigned the Princess Quarters already."

"Yes. Operations handled it for me as soon as I got her paperwork in." The pair stood outside the stations docking bay, waiting for the last member of the elite test team to arrive. "Now let's just hope everything goes smoothly."

"You're that concerned about getting a command?" Charlotte looked at Derrick. "Or do you want to impress the brass enough that you'll end up one of them?"

"A little of both. In case you haven't noticed, unlike the rest of you, I'm not a fleet brat. My career never had the legacy boost, no one was ever there to bail me out of difficult situations." He watched as a young redhead walked confidently into the airlock and gracefully pressed the one side closed so she could enter through the other. Her curls held above her ears with a single clip, she had opted for a compromise uniform, tall boots under the form fitting pants and gold top that hugged every curve perfectly. "I hate it when you're right Charlotte."

"You're going to hate me even more in a few minutes. She got all the good qualities of Maggie Archer." Charlotte raised an eyebrow at him. "You know you're going to have get too used to those cramped cabins Kenz."

"Like your engine room is never cramped Harli." The young pilot shot back at the engineer. "I'll take cramped over odor any day." She turned to her new commander and handed him a pad. "My orders sir."

"Welcome aboard Lieutenant." Derrick tried hard not to stare at the woman in front of him. Yes she was an officer, but most female officers did not even closely resemble Mackenzie. "Commander Tucker and I are going to show you to quarters, and I've scheduled a full team briefing for 1930."

"Thank-you, sir." Mackenzie looked at her commander. "I assume we'll be out flying with in the month. I'm ready to get into a ship and really fly again. The way Brass talks I'm the greatest thing since my great-grandfather to hit the Starfleet Diplomatic corps, but deep down inside I am nothing more than an air jockey who needs to fly."

"I'm hoping to have you out within the next week Lieutenant. The simulations have all gone smoothly but we won't know how beautiful her work really is until we see it in action." He whispered pointing to Charlotte. "Six Percent Vulcan DNA and she thinks she can out logic us all."

"Of course she does, but us fleet brats let her think it." Mackenzie put on a coy smile. "It's part of the deal, the Tuckers can out logic anyone and the Reed-Archers are expected to run the show. And Xaulch will put us in our places quicker than we know it."

Utopia, 2285

She had just collapsed onto her couch with her research when the chime went off. "Just a second." Mackenzie rose still reading the padd in front of her. "Commander, what can I do for you?"

"I figured I would bring you the readouts from this afternoon, but it seems like you already have reading that's engrossing you." Derrick looked over at his pilot, barefoot, in a tank and loose pants she looked even more petite. "That and I wanted to see how you were feeling you; Xaulch was concerned about bruising when he read your medical scans."

"I'm just a little sore, but to be honest he was overreacting. I've been bruised more sitting in hostile negotiations." She smiled putting down her padd. "Why don't you come on in for a drink, I'm so far behind that one more night of procrastinating is not going to make a difference anymore."

"That would be wonderful, thank-you." Derrick walked into her tidy quarters. He noticed the piles of pads on her desk. "You're back in school aren't you?"

"No student in their right mind turns down the Security and Intelligence program at Bethesda. I just keep it quiet, makes it easier for everyone not to know." She walked over to her kitchenette. "Any preference or do you trust my judgment?"

"Surprise me." He sat down on her couch. "You know you're nothing what I expected from you Lieutenant. I mean I respect your father like no other, but he just has this sense of entitlement about him that I was sure I was going to be dealing with every hour when I got your transfer papers."

"I'm realistic I can't fly and I can't be the hot young diplomat forever either. I'm working on my dissertation; but at this rate Katie will be an Admiral before I'm a Doctor." She joined him on the couch with two mugs tucking her feet underneath her. "Plus, my mother wasn't a fleet brat; I do have blood that's not from Admirals. What's your story? I know you're a first generation officer."

"I had an ephinany in my last month of law school that I didn't really want to practice law. I took the bar exam then walked right to the Starfleet recruiters office." The Commander paused. "Brass knows I bust my balls to do everything right. They've rewarded me for it."

"It's good to know that they still have some brains. Some of those admirals just don't have any sense of reality whatsoever." Mackenzie sipped her tea. "Why do you think I never put in that I'm back in school? It drives brass nuts that I can pick-up languages without the syntax. I know there was probably a campaign to keep me from getting a commission because I was a stupid teenager. I mean come on, what type of moral drive does a girl that gets pregnant at sixteen have?"

"You really hate being Daniel Reed's granddaughter don't you?" Derrick looked at her with interest. "You hate it that all four of your paternal great-grandparents were legends. And your father simply followed in their footsteps. You never wanted anything more that to simply follow your own path into a life of diplomatic relations, but felt nothing but the pressure to be the perfect officer to keep the family line alive. Why didn't you rebel Mackenzie? You obviously had the brains to get a job on a Federation mediation team without the pips."

"We become officers. By the time my father went to the Academy, his older siblings were already Captains. Not just Captains, but Captains with power. You've met Eu, Charlotte and I got the same pressure." She sighed. "My brother died in a flight accident when he was a Cadet. I was seven and basically given my life's plan on a platter at his funeral. It was a huge argument when I chose Harvard over the Academy. It was only after I promised to go to Flight school that I won in the end. My parents didn't care; they were ready to raise Katie if it meant me becoming an officer. My father was determined that the baby I had at 17 did not affect my career in any way. I want Katie to choose her own destiny, but part of me wants her to follow in my footsteps."

"I know about changing perceptions. My mother is a judge, her father was a judge. I mean I am a lawyer, but the problem is I haven't really practiced a day in my life." Derrick sighed. "She sees this as a phase, and then I'll settle down and become a judge. At least I keep up with the current literature. When I retire, I can start practicing. But then again I didn't have the whole fleet applauding my flight school graduation either."

"It wasn't the whole fleet Commander. It was just the officers stationed out of San Francisco. They won't all be applauding when I get my first command. Especially since I'm expected to have it by thirty." She found herself at ease with him; she rarely did around her fellow officers. "It's all about the joys of having the expectations of a legacy."

"It's Derrick." He found himself inching closer to her. "You're the only one on the team who actually addresses me by rank. I have to be honest with you Mackenzie, it wouldn't be right if I wasn't. The day you walked into that airlock, there was something about you that made me flutter. I hate it when she is, but Charlotte was right I was going to be fully surprised by you."

3 months later

"Sweet." The pilot pumped her fist in the air as she departed from the test ship. "Someone get me the readings I want to see if it looked as good as it felt out there!" The petite wonder kid, her hair held into braided pigtails smiled as her commanding officer entered the docking bay.

"You never cease to amaze me Kenz." He picked her up and spun her around. "If we can get readings like these on a regular basis, your first command will be on a full size ship with this propulsion system. Charlotte is just getting the sensor reports now, I want you all in the conference room in ten minutes, I can't wait to send it to headquarters."

"You know I have a huge problem with you legacy brats, and the way y'all think you can be the best with every generation that comes along the line." The teams engineer walked in with her sensor reports. "Your perfection is sickening kiddo."

"My perfection is sickening? You're just as much of a fleet brat." She smirked at her surrogate older sister. "Plus it was your engines."

The Lieutenant Commander rolled her eyes at the young Lieutenant in front of her. "It was a beautiful flight. As long as he doesn't freak out we'll do it again tomorrow. Now I'll leave you two to bask in your fully sickening and fully prohibited infatuation. I'll see you in the conference room in a few."

"You think she's blabbed to anyone yet about us?" The commander looked down at his pilot. "I know it's killing her keeping it a secret." He double checked to make sure they were alone then bent down to kiss her.

"If anybody else knows it's just Xaulch, and if they can yenta with each other they're fine. Charlotte knows that I will make her life a living hell if I ever find out she squealed to anybody else." She let him hold her close. "Though I really want you to be more involved in my life."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Derrick tucked the hair that had come loose behind her ear. "Do I get to take the Kat and Katie test?"

"That would just be mean to give you the two of them in one dose." Mackenzie smiled coyly. "Come down to San Fran one of these days. Have dinner with the family. The Admiral is pretty talented when it comes to controlling the firing squad."

San Francisco, 2286

"You must be Katie." Derrick looked nervously at the ten year old who answered the door. "Is your mom home?"

"You must be Commander Paris." She stared him back. "You here to pick Mom up on a date or something?"

"Kaitlin Margaret!" Mackenzie's voice boomed down the stairs she ran down. "Don't you even let your grandfather hear you talk like that, he'll have you in uniform next week. Why on earth would you even think that?" She squeezed her daughter's shoulder.

"Aunt Harli and Xaulch." Kaitlin plopped down on the steps. "They said that you and the Commander here were fully infatuated with each other."

"And you said those two would be fine yentaing with each other Kenz." Derrick enveloped her in a hug. I'm actually here to take both of you out to lunch Katie. I figured since those two hinted to you that I sort of like your Mom, I'm going to have to need to get to know you Katie. It's only fair."

The pre-teen smiled at him. It was the first time her mother was introducing her to a boyfriend. Something told her it was going to be the last.

San Francisco, January 2288

"So." The Admiral leaned against his kitchen counter. "Derrick's taking the Grissom. I assume he told you that already."

"He told me last night." Mackenzie plopped herself up on the counter. "So as Mom would say another one bites the dust."

"I think he's a keeper." The Commandment smiled at his daughter. "He's survived both Katie and Mom, and you and I both know that's an impossible task."

"Dad, face it. I love him and all but it was what it was. I had a fling with my commanding officer." She sighed. "If my name wasn't Mackenzie Reed Archer I would've faced a court martial for it."

"He really cares for you Kenz." Her father consoled her. "No other guy you ever dated even had a desire to meet Katie, and he treats her like his own. You can't pass on that."

"I know, but I know things can change in a heart beat Dad." The Lieutenant Commander sighed one more time. "I've always been willing to accept it."

Washington, December 2288

The Commander held her ground as she paced the hallway, punching one clench fist into her other hand. She looked up to see him standing at the end of the hallway. "What on earth are you doing here?" Mackenzie blurted out as the smile came across her face.

"Surprise!" Derrick smiled back at her. "I figured you'd be doing that as they deliberated. It can't possibly be that nerve wracking?"

"I don't know, what was it like when you took the bar?" She hugged him. "Because I just presented 5 years of research, and if those 5 people don't like it that's 3 ranks of almost every non-duty work moment of my life down the drain."

"Your paper covered every point perfectly. Kenz you've handled some of the most difficult Starfleet treaties in the last 3 years." He tucked her loose hair behind her ear. "Commander Archer is capable of handling a room of 5 academics."

"You're such a lawyer and you know it Derrick." She rolled her eyes at him. "And since when is the Grissom in orbit anyway, aren't you guys off on some insanely boring survey mission?"

"We were in transit, and I realized my crew needed some shore leave, plus the sensors needed a refit, so we docked at Utopia for the week." She glared at him. "Ok so I purposely timed it for your defense. I figured if it went well we'd be celebrating, I figured if you didn't I would save some poor Ensign from getting torn apart by you."

"That is the most romantic thing I've heard out of your mouth in the last five years." The mediator in her kicked in. "But I know you have ulterior motives for this visit Captain."

"Ok, I do. Your firing squad just opened the door, I'll be waiting here when you walk out with your verdict." He squeezed her hand and watched her walk back in. The Captain then leaned against the wall he was sure she would say yes, but was ready to deal with the heartache if she said no. Derrick began pacing in the same manner Archer had used as she waited for her results. She came out a few minutes later wearing a non-descript expression. "Well?"

She smiled warmly and threw her arms around his neck. "I think I'll like the sound of Dr. Mackenzie Paris."

San Fran ship yards 2289

"Amazing isn't she?" The young Captain smiled at her best friend. "I guess working your ass off is a plus every so often. She's going to start a new era of space travel. I just wish you were actually coming with me on the shakedown, I don't feel fully confident without you down there."

"You'll be fine without me for the first month. You don't want a whale like me down there anyway. A ship on shakedown cruise is not where you want a woman that's 30 weeks pregnant. She rested her hand on her giant belly. "Besides I'll be able to keep an eye on Derrick when you're gone. You don't want that perfect fiancée of yours getting away. Especially since every female under the age of 40 on the western coast of North America would give anything to have the famous war hero."

"I know he's not going anywhere, he might have the social scene wrapped around his pinky, but Katie has him wrapped around hers." She giggled. "Let's just hope we'll off without a hitch, the idea of writing a negative report just makes my skin irk. No matter how many times I imagine writing it, I know I'll never be able to do it."

"You're freaking out. Everything will be beautiful." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You finish shakedown, and then you and Derrick can set a date for that outrageous lavish affair your mother is planning. You might even shock them all by having another baby before you have the Admiral title."

"I'll play yours, could you just imagine what Derrick and I would do to screw-up our offspring." She smiled. "It's mom and dad that made Katie what she is, if I raised her on my own she would be a disaster. Just remember what I was like as a teenager, she's just as bad if not worse."

San Franciso

"Katie." Derrick waited nervously with the school principal. He had gotten the news only a few minutes earlier, he wanted to hear it from her, not from a reporter outside the house. "Something's happened with the Zeppelin. I'm taking you home now."

"Is Mom okay?" Kaitlin leaned nervously against the wall. She cautiously questioned her future step-father. "What exactly happened Derrick?"

"We don't know yet. There was a distress call which she sent out herself." Derrick sighed. "Everything was going well. Your grandmother wanted me to come get you, she doesn't want you being out in public until we know."

"Mom's going to be okay right?" The young teenager started to look worried. "She's going to be fine right Derrick?"

"I don't know sweetie." Derrick let her collapse into his arms. "We just don't know yet." He knew one thing and only one thing only. He had grown to love his fiancee's daughter as his own. No matter what happened it wasn't going to change the fact that she was the closest thing he would probably ever have to a child of his own. It wouldn't be fair to abandon her if her mother was going into crisis.

Deep Space 3

"Captain." She looked up at the Admiral standing above her. "I'm so sorry, but the Zeppelin is gone. Thankfully your physical condition is stabilizing, but we're still trying to find out how extensively you were injured."

Archer nodded weakly, "What about my crew?" She struggled with the words. "How many casualties are there?" She blacked out again before those surrounding her could give the devastating news.

San Fran, 6 weeks later

"Ma'am, the admiral is here to see you." She nodded a sign that she would accept the visitor. She had barely spoken a sentence since she arrived 3 days earlier. The guards were put on notice to give her privacy; it wasn't every day they had a fallen legend sitting in one of these cells. She was a special case, the youngest commanding officer of her generation, the latest Captain in the fleet's most prestigious line of officers.

She sat there with her knees pulled up to her chest, looking young and vulnerable, not the confident and accomplished pilot she was. The admiral stood at the door of the cell and looked at his daughter. It was then that she finally began to cry the tears that had built up over the last six weeks. "It's okay peanut, you'll survive this, one mistake does not mean you were a bad officer."

Starfleet Headquarters, 2291

"You have options Kenz." Derrick sat separated from her by a force field "You can walk away and accept the life in academia that you always wanted. You can be Professor for the rest of your life."

"Brass would never agree to let me off that easily. I destroyed the gem of the fleet." She sighed. "113 people died because of me. We're talking about a group of admirals who hate me to begin with."

"They hate you because of your name." He longed to reach across to her and comfort her. "I'll talk to them and see what they say. Your rank is not worth years in the brig."

"I don't care what it takes; just get me out of here." She sighed. "Oxford hasn't rescinded their offer yet. The Federation Diplomatic Corps has postings available; I'll even rescind my pilot's license to appease them. Katie's not a baby anymore but she doesn't need a mother in prison."

"You won't be spending the rest of your life in the brig." Derrick smiled at her. "Believe it or not I do have a law license, and I was editor of the law review before my little let me go play with weapons realization."

She sighed. "Let's just screw them all and move to some far off colony, you'll run the judicial branch and I'll find a hobby to fill my time."

"Don't be ridiculous." He stood up to leave her in her cell. "We can stay right on earth and you can take your time being my perfectly pulled together trophy wife. You know I love you, Mackenzie."

The Carolina Coast, July 2291

Bouncing her daughter on her hip, Charlotte joined the teenager on the beach. "I just talked to my brother, they're still not sure what they're doing with Kenzie. You'd think they know by now."

"Aunt Charlotte, you've met Mom. Did you expect anything different?" Kaitlin looked up and smiled. "But thank-you for letting me spend the summer out here with you. I can only tolerate so much of Grandma and her pacing. I can't stand her on eggshells."

The Admiral worked her way down to the beach. She smiled at the teenager and set down her beach chair. "This is the perfect place to escape. I've done it. Those judicial committees just get carried away with themselves. It's a power thing with them. If your mother goes to trial it's bound to come out." Eunice looked at her protectively.

"Has she ever said anything about your father? Anything at all Katie?" The Captain protectively clung to her own child. "Please tell me she's said something over the years. I don't want us to be the ones that tells you everything."

"What do you two know? I'm not as dense as Mackenzie is on things." Kaitlin sighed and stared down the two of them. "She won't say a thing on the subject. I know Derrick knows nothing either, and she tells Derrick everything. So it has to be bad?"

"The Arkarian resistance movement." The Admiral shook her head. "There's a human, brilliant motivator. He graduated Harvard and within weeks was out there. We're talking about a guy who had the potential to be the President of the UFP. Instead he decided to go out and be a revolutionary."

"Aunt Kat and Uncle Jon have no clue. Your mother basically hid her pregnancy from them for months." Charlotte paused. "I know they knew she ran in the same friendship circle as Oliver Hoyn, I doubt they would ever make the connection."

Eunice sighed. "I knew through my intelligence channels. They were watching him all through his Harvard years. The fact that he fell for your mother just sent off tons of red flags. We knew he was going for her to get to Jon. Technically he's not as much of a threat as he thinks he is. If you want to contact him, I can arrange for it."

"Let me think about it Eu. I mean you lost both of the loves of your life to Starfleet. Is it worth it?" Katie looked at the two of them. "Is it really smart for me to open that can of worms?"

August 2291

Archer had retreated to the nook her father had made for his young daughter years earlier. Curled up in the swing, she sat blankly staring down at her mother's garden. It had been a year and a week since the accident, just six hours since she had walked out of Starfleet Command leaving behind her career and rank. She barely turned her head as she heard the door to her private sanctuary open. "You've come to break it off haven't you? You don't want to be associated with me anymore, I understand I don't want to be associated with me anymore either Derrick."

He stood above her blocking her view of the gardens. "You're being ridiculous Kenz. I've stood by you as you went through it all. Why on earth would you think that, I'd throw away the best thing that ever happened to me?" He bent down and took his fiancée's hands in his own. "I fell in love with you, not your career."

"I'm not going to allow you to throw away your career for me." She sighed as she collapsed into his arms, it was the first time she had felt his touch since the accident. "I just can't possibly let you do that, you deserve better than me."

"I've taken leave, your father's given me his private ship, you're packing a bag, and then we're beaming out of here, whether you like it or not." He pulled her up. "You have two months to let me change your mind about dumping me. If Command has a problem with us, which is frankly none of their business, they'll lose me too. And finally, I've been waiting to do this for a year." He bent down and kissed her.

2297

The young Lieutenant quickly rushed around the grounds of the academy. Kaitlin let out a sigh of relief as she climbed the stairs and leaned against the office door. "I got the SOS, are we in that much of a crisis?"

"I can't get Greg to calm down. And I have office hours starting in about 3 minutes." Derrick looked over to where his two year old son was throwing a tantrum in his office. "How on earth did you know there was an SOS Katie?"

"Mom." She cracked up laughing. "She told me that about 2 pm on Tuesday, Greg always throws a temper tantrum and it'll probably be just about as you start holding office hours. She doubted your ability to actually handle the boys smoothly on your own. You have a line of timid candidates outside the door, let me take the Grego and try to calm him down."

"I owe you Katie." Derrick smiled as he walked his step-daughter and son to his office door. "Whoever was first come on in."

"Just don't even think of assigning any of them to my team Der." She smiled back into her step-father's office. "Crisis averted folks. And yes there's a lesson in it."

"You're the Reed-Archer girl aren't you?" The young scientist looked out at the officer standing in front of him. "So what's the lesson?"

"Genius officers make crappy parents." She smiled. "There's a reason they wait for multiple pips before having children. Bet you haven't learned that lesson yet."

"No, we haven't. I guess that must be an unofficial lesson." He smiled. "Kaitlin, right? Jake Hansen, can I ask why you're bouncing Captain Paris's son anyway?"

"Short story. The ambassador is out and about and it's the first time Derrick has the boys on his own." Kaitlin adjusted the toddler. "And despite two children, they still don't have the parenting thing figured out yet."

"I get that." Hansen smiled. "What's the reason behind you having the little Paris? There's a longer story I assume."

"Mackenzie Reed Archer messed up and got pregnant at 16." Kaitlin smiled. "She popped me out, before having that career that should've ended up with a life sentence in the brig, not a prime diplomatic posting. How are you finding my step-father's class?"

"Got it, Captain Paris only said that his wife was a member of the diplomatic corps. Not that she was Mackenzie Archer." Hansen smiled at her. "The class is tough but the fact that he's been through it helps too. Do you remember your mother doing it?"

"Barely. I was six." She smiled. "I'm glad I did it the academy way. Had my commision and a ship posting by age 22. Granted I know my promotion doesn't come as quickly to most people. So what's the science?"

"Xobiology." Hansen smiled back at her. "I'm defending the dissertation in a few weeks. I just didn't want a life ahead of me in an academic research lab."

"Exactly why I chose the fleet life, my grandmother would've been very happy with me going the chemical route." She adjusted her little brother. "Are you hoping for a space posting?"

"I'm hoping for space, but you never know." He smiled back. "Are you on toddler crisis duty much longer?"

"Just until he finishes his office hours, I have the rest of the day off, so it's the excitement of grocery shopping and laundry." She smiled.

"I'd love to get your perspective on some things Lieutenant." Hansen started. "Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee?"

2300

"Let's go you guys!" She stood at the base of the stairs leading up to the top floors of her San Francisco brownstone and paced her foot waiting for her sons to make their way down the stairs. After almost two years her husband was returning from deep space assignment, she was ready for him to be back in their lives. The revered diplomat looked in the mirror and pushed a piece of her red hair out of her eyes. "Dad's going to be beaming down in less than thirty minutes, and I would be like to be there to meet him!"

"I'm ready Mom." The eldest stood proudly in front of her; she looked him over then adjusted his shirt so it was actually somewhat straight, then did the same with his brother. "I can't wait to tell Dad I'm going to the Academy and I'm going to be a pilot, do you think I'll be a good one?"

"You'll be a great one Matt." Mackenzie smiled back at him, as they started walking towards the parade grounds. "It's in your blood kiddo. I'll tell you a secret, my grandfather taught me how to fly when I was about your age, maybe just maybe when we go up to the beach I'll take you and Greg up and teach you the basics."

The bright eyed redheads looked up as they watched the crew shuttles begin to descend on the parade grounds, oblivious to the fact that their grandfather had walked up and stood beside them. "Did Derrick tell you about the promotion yet?" The Admiral whispered to his daughter.

"Last week, I haven't said anything to Matt and Greg just yet, I'm not quite sure how they'll react." The professor sighed. "I'm still processing it myself, I'm not exactly cut out to be an Admiral's wife Daddy."

"I know." The Admiral just gave his daughter the look, then bent down to his grandsons' level, the three watched as the Captain and his Senior Staff departed from the last landing shuttle.

Oxford, 2305

"Dr. Reed-Archer." She looked up at the Andorian standing outside her office. Him using both names threw her off, she tended to avoid using the whole thing like it was a communicable disease. "I have a proposal for you."

"I assume it's not for a teaching post at a competing university." Mackenzie smiled warmly at him. "No one ever addresses me as Reed-Archer, so you must be here on pretty important business."

"I'm with the Federation Council. As usual they have been beyond impressed with your recent work." He paused. "They know asking you to give up your chair here is not going to get an affirmative answer. However they would like you to give up your Terran Ambassador seat."

"In case you haven't notice I do have a Ph.D., does the Council think I'm that stupid that I would just give up my Terran Ambassador seat?" She questioned the man in front of her. "Is there a reason for them wanting me to do so?"

"You're an expert on treaties and mediations." He paused. "In addition you have the Fleet background that almost the whole Federation Diplomatic Corps is lacking. They would feel quite comfortable with you leading a prime mediation team. However in order to do so . . ."

"I can't be representing any member planet in any official role." The Professor finished his sentence for him. "I assume they want my resignation to the United Terran Government as soon as possible. And it can't be conditional upon my confirmation either."

"You know the story well Professor. I'm impressed." He paused. "Most academics don't know the inner workings of the political side of things."

"Just remember what name is on the Federation Charter." Mackenzie poured herself a cup of tea. "It's part blood, it's part grandparent drilling. There's something else the Council should know before they fully extend this invitation."

"They don't care what the story with the Zeppelin was, your piloting skills are not at issue." The Andorian read her face. "But that's not what they need to know is it?"

"Your about to be the 3rd person to know this, you're to tell the council then I want it quiet." She insticvely placed her hand on her abdomen. "I'm six weeks pregnant, so even if the Federation Senate accepts me I have no plans to do major mediation for the better part of two years."

San Francisco

"So." Kaitlin slipped into the booth across from her mother. "You called me here for what reason? It's not like I don't have enough to do Mom."

"Two pieces of news." Mackenzie leaned back and looked at her daughter. "I'm pregnant again, it's twins. And I'm resigned my terran ambassador seat yesterday."

"Ok and ok." She reached for her tea. "You are aware that you'll have children and grandchildren the same age then. Are you planning on therapy for these children?"

"You came out fine. And I thought you and Jake weren't even thinking about a family yet." Mackenzie smiled. "You know I'm way to young to be a grandmother."

"You should of thought about that consequence when you got pregnant at sixteen. We'll be solid for at least 3 years, it's such a rarity. Might as well take advantage of it. That's the best way, both parents stationed in the same place." The Captain smiled. "I could've made you a grandmother 15 years ago."

"You do have a valid point." The Ambassador pushed a loose hair out of her face. "They think you'll have any problems getting pregnant?"

"No. I'm ready to be a parent." She nursed her tea. "It's not like I've been married for three seconds. It's time we fully settle down."


	3. Ambassador

San Fran, October 2306

"I still don't know if it's too soon." Mackenzie finished packing everything into her bag. "I mean they're only 5 months old, I could back out now."

"We'll be fine, you worry too much." The admiral looked at his worried wife. "They need you out there Kenz, you and I both know that. I think I'm mature enough to handle our kids for a few weeks. I'll pop Owen and Emily in the stroller-we can at least walk you to the shuttle station."

"That would be nice." She reached up to kiss her husband. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with all 4 kids?"

"We have a nanny, your meddling mother is 3 blocks away, and I know how to cook. We'll probably only notice you're gone after we get tired of edible food." He held her close. "I can even handle the bottle feedings."

The ambassador let her smile expand. "You will record any major milestone that happens right? I don't want to miss anything important."

"Of course." He cracked a laugh. "If I didn't you'd come home and want another one, and I'm not willing to pay for the psychological counseling that goes with having a nephew that's a year older than you. And Katie will never let me hear the end of it either for that matter. She won't say anything to you—but I'm totally fair game."

"Her latest is—I'm lucky J.P.'s only a few weeks old. She could've easily chosen to make me a grandmother 15 years ago." Mackenzie looked over at her two youngest. "Can you believe the nerve of that girl?"

"She is right. Even if she waited to after she graduated from the Academy, your oldest grandchild would only be a few months younger than Greg." The judge picked up his daughter and placed her in the stroller. "Think of it that way, she allowed you to have at least the boys before you became a grandmother."

"Don't take her side on the matter please. It's bad enough that I'm getting that grief from her and Mom. I was hoping the man I love would at least remain my Ally from the Kates." The ambassador smiled. "So let's see what type of hero's welcome I get if I bring in Oliver Coyn. It's about time someone tames that rebel."

"If anyone can do it, it's you Kenzie." Derrick nodded knowing she would never admit she was using her personal trump card. The one that only her cousin was supposed to know about. "I think his fight has lost muster, so he'll give in a lot easier."

In orbit of Ataria IV, November 2306

"Doctor Archer." She looked up to see one of her aides standing at the door of her temporary office. "Oliver Coyn is demanding to speak to the senior Federation official."

"Have the guards set him up in the conference room, tell them I said to let him stew. I'll be down in a few minutes." Mackenzie sipped her tea as she finished reading her pad. The Ambassador stood, smoothed her skirt, and tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear. She strode into the room with purpose and stood across from the dissident.

"Kenzie. Can't say I'm surprised." Coyn stared down the official in front of him. "It's quite fitting you're the one running this shin-dig. The years have obviously treated you well."

"Oliver." She eased herself into the chair across and crossed her arms. "Why now?"

"I'm not a kid now anymore Kenz." He sighed. "My cause isn't what it used to be. I'm not going to fight a meaningless fight."

"Oliver that's bullshit and you know it." Mackenzie ran her left hand through her hair. "You've been fighting a meaningless fight for the last 15 years. Life's moved on without you."

"Who is he?" Coyn looked at her wedding and engagement rings. "Does he know that his perfect wife has me in her past?"

"He's fleet, an Admiral. And no he doesn't know. He knows I was beyond difficult as a teenager, and he loves me despite it." Mackenzie sighed. "He wouldn't have married me teenage daughter and all if he didn't."

"Kaitlin." The dissident looked at her, not letting on that it was his daughter that convinced him to finally surrender. "She grew up to be a good person, she stands by her principals?"

"It wasn't a necessary conversation to have. My husband, when we became serious, he basically decided she was his." The mother in her beamed with pride. "Where I messed up she got it right. She has everything perfectly balanced and in the right order. You ever settle down out here?"

"No. I never stopped loving you Mackenzie. The only regret I have was leaving you 2 the way I did." He sighed. "Principals or not, what kind of man leaves his daughter when she's barely a month old. You didn't deserve having to raise her on your own."

"I'm in love with my husband Ol." The ambassador struggled to keep her voice steady. "Four children, a perfect marriage, a stellar academic reputation that's what is waiting for me at home. I quit worrying about you and me 32 years ago."

Jupiter Station

Jake leaned back in his desk chair and answered his secure channel. "I'm not sending Katie down to get you out of a child crisis Der. You should be able to handle your own children at this point."

"Your sense of humor is exactly why I made you a Captain Jake." Derrick's sarcastic tone over came the speaker. "Actually, I wouldn't dream of bringing down that hormonal wife of yours, you must be going through torture."

"Trust me, this pregnancy has been a glide so far." The Captain smiled. "You didn't make a call on a secure channel to see how your hormonal daughter was doing. What's your real reason?"

"Oliver Coyn, he turned himself into Kenz last week. I'm not sure if she's going to explain the situation the way it occurred to Katie. The file is still fully classified." Derrick sighed. "I sent you a copy with my original intelligence report on Coyn. The one that they asked me to run before Katie was born."

"And I would be interested in a 30 something year old report on some aging irrelevant dissident because?" Jake peaked his head with interest. His wife had been forthcoming about that aspect of her life from day one. He knew she had kept her knowledge of it from her mother and step-father for a very good reason. If brass found out, her career would be over. "Not for nothing, between the research reports, the crew reports, and JP's bedtime stories I have enough reading on my hands."

"That irrelevant dissident is your actual father-in-law. Though of course you wouldn't know that seeing that chances are your wife doesn't know he's her father." The smirk in the Admiral's voice was classic. "Officially I don't know. The only one that Kenz ever told was Charlotte. And well, you've met Charlotte. She made me promise on her father's grave that I wouldn't let it on."

"Do you think Kenz will say anything to Katie about it? Should I be prepared? You know what Katie can be like with things like that." The captain sighed. "I really don't blame her, Kenz has kept a lot from her, and she's getting tired of the run-around."

"We all are." Derrick sighed. "But it comes with the territory of Mackenzie Reed Archer, she has the secrets she won't talk about. It's the reason our marriage works, she doesn't know all of what I do, I don't care what she's done in her past."

Starbase 10, January 2307

"This better be good." Charlotte stormed into the ambassador's office. She stared down her surrogate kid sister. "So you got yourself the coup of the decade. I take it you didn't call me out here to celebrate a victory."

"Can you explain to me why I actually contemplated letting him go?" Mackenzie looked up from her padd. "Why I was willing to leave Derrick and the kids for him? That the only reason I didn't walk away from my marriage was my career?"

"You got the full out Maggie Archer craziness." The retired Captain eased into the chair across from the ambassador. "It took you a decade to really believe he wasn't coming home to you and Katie. Why do you think I'm living the life that Dan Reed lived of celibate mourner? I wake-up every day and hope it's the day we find an amnesic Jim somewhere."

"You're right, I guess. Granted I didn't go through it the way you did. I knew where the first love of my life was the whole time." Mackenzie sighed and reached for her tea. "I guess I need to figure out the best way to broach the subject. I mean I can go on keeping it between you and me, but what if he tries to contact Katie? Derrick knows I was difficult as a teenager, he just doesn't know how difficult. I mean he could very well divorce me and take the kids if he finds out how difficult. Harli what am I going to do?"

"First of all, Derrick is not going to divorce you and take the kids. He's too head over heels in love with you to even contemplate it." Charlotte smiled. "Secondly, Katie isn't exactly a vulnerable kid, if you choose to tell her she should be able to handle the news. Thirdly, Oliver's going straight to solitary confinement, I doubt Katie's going to be on his allowed list of 3. He needs just that many lawyers to handle the press."

"He came back because of me." The ambassador bit back tears. "Oliver outright told me that he never stopped loving me. Part of me actually believes it too."

New Berlin, April 2308

"Could you please put down that stupid PADD and come to bed sometime tonight?" Jake groggily stood at the doorway of their bedroom. "The kids are both sound asleep and all that crap will be there in a few hours."

"But I can't fall asleep." Kaitlin looked up from her spot in the corner of the couch. "Might as well work if I'm the one that's wide awake. Plus, we need an answer as to how to deal with this problem. Do you think Derrick could figure out a way to get me onto the visitor list? I'm his only child dammit."

"Derrick knows Coyn is your father. I'm willing to put money that the same culprits are to blame. When your mother first brought him in, he called me to let me know. He ran the original intelligence report on Coyn when the whole thing was breaking. He's been way too overprotective of you, I doubt he'll allow it." He sighed as he plopped down next to his wife. "You don't have to be the one who probes Oliver Coyn's mind. Katie, please let the shrinks do that."

"They've been probing for almost two years, and have gotten nowhere. You and I both know how to pull the wool over their eyes. Who's to say Coyn is anything different? He graduated near the top of his Harvard class. And we know what my mother can be like." She glared at her husband. "Meanwhile, we're battling his crazed disciples to no avail. This is my father we're talking about. He'll talk to me—you know how much it sucks that I haven't actually ever physically sat in the same room with him."

"So talk to Derrick, see what he says. He's at his wits end with that psycho, he'll might be game at this point." Jake smiled at her and raised an eyebrow. "'I still want to know how your mother convinced him in. They've been trying for years and it took her all of 5 minutes. I know Kenzie's a genius, but that's beyond being good."

"I'm sure there's an underlying reason that I don't want to know about." Kaitlin burst out laughing. "With my mother there are always underlying reasons that I really have no desire to know about. I know Aunt Harli knows, I just doubt she'll ever squeal as to what it is."

San Fran, August 2308

"At least let me look at his file Der." Kaitlin adjusted her daughter into a high chair in her mother's kitchen. "I know he's my father, Aunt Harli and Eu told me right after the Zeppelin. I have the right to meet him. Forget about the fact that all I need is a secondary authorization on my security clearance."

"You're as stubborn and persistent as your mother Katie. Yes, part of me is playing overprotective Dad, but most of it is not wanting to send a damn good officer in there." Derrick smiled coyly at her. "If Emily ends up nearly half as bad as the two of you, I'm going to be in hell when she's a teenager."

"As long as you limit her exposure to Grandma you'll have nothing to worry about. She's the one that did me in." The Captain smiled. "Now would you please let me see that file. It's pertinent to me keeping my base afloat."

"No it's not. That's outright being overly melodramatic." The Admiral rolled his eyes as he picked up his youngest son. "I'm half tempted to ban you from the house the next time your Mom goes off on one of her expeditions. It would give me some peace and quiet."

"You have two teenagers that make my teenage years, which I know you've blocked out most memories of, look perfectly angelic. No it wouldn't." She placed several noodles onto the trays of the high chairs. "Plus, I need real food sometimes, replicator rations and mess hall fare get old after a while. Now if you give me access to that file, I'll get out of the little hair you have left. And I'll bring my squirmy, screaming, tantrum throwing, offspring with me."

"Nice try, maybe try a little more flattery of my cooking next time." Derrick cracked a laugh. "I'm not giving you the full file. However, I'll give you a version that covers most of what you're going to need. He already has you on his approved list, you don't need any secondary authorization."

New Zealand, January 2309

She followed the guard to the conference room where her interrogation would take place. Kaitlin nodded as she was left to wait. Her gut was questioning the decision her mind and training had made. The daughter in her knew the meeting had to happen, it was about time she saw him face to face.

The dissident had done a double take when he heard she was coming. His daughter had been avoiding it for the last 18 months, he figured it was a trick they were playing to get him to talk. Yet there she was sitting calmly, as the guards pushed in his wheelchair. "Kaitlin? Does your mother know you're here?"

"I quit answering to her when I was 15." She crossed her arms. "For as much of a genius as she is, she's as stupid as they come half the time. Are they treating you okay?"

"They're treating me appropriately for the 30 years of chaos that I've caused. They're giving me the best medical care that they can with my condition, I'm allowed access to my legal team, I guess that's the best I can expect." He smiled at his only child. "You're here because of that chaos, aren't you?"

"I'm in uniform, I think that's your answer." The Captain chuckled. "Your followers are a lot more loyal than your offspring. They're still in full out rebellion. I'm losing a patrol ship a week to them. It's not an ideal situation. I don't even know if they know what they're fighting for anymore."

"It's a principal thing Katie. We've been fighting for so long, that it's just a matter of fighting because they can." The Rebel sighed. "It's not an old man's game. I'm physically older than your grandfather, I think that says it all. That's the reason they're willing to risk it, they know they won't live a normal length life, it's better to go down in a blaze of glory."

"I'm half tempted to bust you out of here for a few days to convince them they don't have a fight to fight anymore." She leaned back and sighed again. "But Jake would talk me out of that in a heartbeat."

"I wouldn't go running Katie. I'm nowhere near strong enough to go running." Oliver Coyn struggled with his speech. "I'll make a statement to them if it helps, maybe if they see how weak I look. Maybe if they realize I'm dying here they'll give up the fight."

New Berlin

She sighed as she read the report that had just come in from San Francisco Her husband came up next to her and protectively took her into his arms. She buried her face into his shoulders and began to cry. Jake tried to calm his wife down. "I know, Katie, none of us were expecting that he would go this quickly."

"I sat with him only days ago, he seemed weak, but not that weak." She sighed. "I can't even go to his funeral. I'm half tempted to say screw my career so I can say good-bye to the parent I barely got a chance to know. It just sucks that good old Kenzie had to keep it a secret."

"Derrick could arrange for you to go incognito if you want. It's up to you." Jake kissed his wife on the forehead. "They can easily disguise you for a few hours. He's let on to some things."

She peaked her head with interest, even in grief trying to figure out what her husband knew. "Derrick's SI isn't he? Even if Aunt Charlotte told him, he knows too much. I mean they wouldn't have released the Coyn visitor list to just anybody. I mean it's not something even the head of Starfleet judicial would have easy access too. I mean the arrest had nothing to do with Starfleet."

"He's intelligence, He's not like the ones we deal with on a regular basis." He sighed. "Your mother has no clue either. Wouldn't surprise me if he was with Section 31, he's implied that much. I know you know as much as I know they drive a lot of things."

"Somehow I doubt Derrick is. He's so straight laced about everything." Kaitlin shook her head. "The year my mom was in the brig—he gave up his life and raised me. No intelligence operative would give it all up to raise his fiancée's teenage daughter. There's no way in hell I would believe it."

London, January 2311

"One of these days Mom is going to catch on to some of the stuff the two of us have been neglecting to tell her." The Captain slid into the booth across from the Admiral. "And it's not going to be a pretty sight."

"I've never been nothing but truthful with my wife." Derrick raised an eyebrow at his step-daughter. "What have you been hiding from her Katie? She would be fine with another grandchild you know, you might as well just tell her."

"Derrick, I have one of the highest clearances in the fleet. You know exactly what secrets I'm talking about." She stared him down and cracked up laughing. "You can't pull the things you pull on Mom on me."

"I also know that Jake is partially oblivious to the level of your clearance." The Admiral raised an eyebrow at his little girl. "You would never dream of letting him on to that either, what did he actually say?"

"That your people could easily disguise me so I could go to the Coyn funeral with on one noticing." She smiled widely. "I got him to imply that he thought you were more than the typical SI. I mean he knows I do some stuff with intelligence, he didn't need to know all that I know. It's better that way, and he's not nearly as dense as Mom."

"That's my girl." The op in him knew he had trained her right. "Are you sure you're not giving Mom another grandchild?"

"Not just yet Der." She rolled her eyes. "I hate keeping so much from Jake. I mean it's not exactly something I like doing. Has Bit named a successor yet? I mean her and Asil aren't getting any younger."

"I met with the two of them last week. They want me and Charlotte to be their replacements." Derrick smiled. "Bit is adamant that her baby doesn't die with her. And she got into her stubborn head that I am the perfect one to make sure things still run smoothly. But we're not the problem at the moment."

"That much I know. The renegades need to be reigned in over again. But how on earth are you going to do it?" Kaitlin looked at him. "I mean once the kids are grown Aunt Harlie can go off for a few weeks and people won't notice. You however can't. At least if Mom is at home."

"There are some kinks to work out. But I hopefully have a few years to do it." He looked at her. "It might make sense to bring Jake into some things. We could probably use him from the science standpoint."

"I trust your judgment on that—but I still don't know if it's a smart move. If you do bring my husband in, can you at least not bring him fully in?" She speared a piece of her salad and gave her step-father the doe eyed look that kept him wrapped around her pinkie.

San Francisco, August 2312

"I don't want it public." Mackenzie stood nervously before the members of the Starfleet Personnel Board. "I only want extreme essential personnel to know. None of this Ambassador Archer is becoming Captain Archer again."

"It's up to you whether to tell your family." She got a nod of approval from the Senior Admiral on the panel. "Though I would highly recommend you let your father and husband know. Not for nothing, I would not like to be on the receiving end when either one of them throws a fit."

"Understood, I obviously don't plan on using it." The Ambassador smiled as she turned to leave the room. Her son-in-law leaned against the wall opposite the conference room. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"They approached me for my opinion on the matter last week, Kenz." Jake raised an eyebrow at her. "I pretty much figured that you would say yes. Katie doesn't know, and I'm pretty sure Derrick has no clue either."

"I'm going to obviously tell Derrick and Katie." She smiled. "As for the little ones I don't know yet. I mean my history is not exactly something that can be easily explained."

"What you don't like the Katie version? Mackenzie Reed Archer messed up and got pregnant at 16. Popped out a daughter, went to Harvard, went to flight school, fell in love with her commanding officer, lost a ship, lost her commission, married commanding officer, became an ambassador, then popped out four children." The Captain cracked a laugh. "It leaves out all the messy details and gets to the point in ten point three seconds."

"If only my life was that simple." Mackenzie smiled. "Is that the story she's going to tell the kids to explain my being?"

Outer Banks

"So are you planning on telling them?" Kaitlin sat next to her mother under the oversized beach umbrella and watched the four youngsters splash in the surf. "Not for nothing my four and five year olds wouldn't react well to the news. I mean your teenagers will be a different story, but I shouldn't be the only one of your offspring who knows."

"Quit bugging Kenz like you outrank her Katie." Jake plopped down next to his wife. "However, I do agree that if we pulled a stunt like this with JP and Rene we would be up for worst parents of the year."

"Last I checked you didn't have any psych degree Jake." Mackenzie smiled at her daughter and son-in-law. "I'm doing what I feel is best for my family. Kaitlin you of all people remember what it was like when I left."

"Ooo, you must be serious if you're using Kaitlin." Paris looked up from the padd he was reading out in the sun. He accepted his wife's glare. "She hasn't called you Kaitlin in years. At least not since the last time she was Captain Archer; we just have to watch out for the Margaret."

"Ok, now the 3 of you are really picking on me." The Ambassador let a massive smile come across her face. "I don't need the pressure on O and Em. You do remember what it was like having a mother as a Captain Katie."

"I survived perfectly well with you as an officer." The Captain reached for her tea. "Granted, I wasn't as little as O and Em. But unlike some people I believe in being fully honest with my children Mom. It's a policy that I would like to keep. Granted, it'll probably change when the kids get older."

Deep Space, April 2315

"Ambassador Archer, welcome aboard." The Columbia's Captain stood proudly in front of her. "I hope the negotiations went well."

"As best as they could have." She smiled warmly at him. "I thank-you in advance for being so accommodating to myself and my staff."

"I served under your husband on the Grissom, it's an honor to have you as a passenger on my ship." He paused to remind himself to refrain from bringing up her past. "May I introduce Commander Amanda Harris my first officer, and I think you've already met Doctor Xaulch, my CMO."

"Commander Harris, it's a pleasure." She then turned to her old friend and just shook her head. "Shouldn't you be teaching on a solid planet by now?"

"I tried that Kenzie, some of us aren't meant to be landlocked." He gave her a big hug. "You're having dinner with me tonight, I know something that you need to tell me."

She sat across from the Doctor in his quarters a few hours later. "Katie told me. How on earth did Derrick manage to get your rank back?"

"It was done out of legitimate concerns, not to appease Derrick or my father." The ambassador looked at the doctor in disbelief. "I'm a Federation Ambassador who specializes in hostile negotiations. Key word being hostile Xaulch. The council didn't want me my escort ship to be left with its command staff incapacitated."

"So your kids, and by kids I mean the ones whose first name isn't Captain, know, they've seen you in uniform and accept it?" The doctor sliced the coffee cake and gave her a piece. "Because last I checked the Greg hated being an admiral's son."

"No, we didn't tell them, nor do they know of my career in the pre-Professor Mom days." She sipped her tea. "It is a brevet rank which chances are I'll never even use. As for my darling first born, she promised not to say anything. And you know what she's like when it comes to her duties as an officer."

3 days later

"Crap." The Ambassador muttered as she took in the scene around her, she opened her portable unit. "We have to get the Commander and Ensign Sullivan to sickbay, there are no other survivors up here."

Her old friend faced her when she got into sickbay with the two bridge survivors. "You have no choice, I'll give the secondary authorization Kenz. Hopefully Amanda will recover and it'll only be for a few days, but you know what the implications can be long run."

She sighed. "I just never thought I would do this. It's backfired on them now." The Doctor glared at her to do quit stalling. "Computer transfer command codes to Captain Mackenzie Archer, authorization Archer-99-Omega-Zeta-51-Johnny."

"Computer confirm transfer of power. Chief Medical Officer Xaulch, authorization Xaulch-87-folo-zeta-98-beta." He turned back to her. "Would you like a status report CAPTAIN?"

"How many casualties do we have Doc, make it honest, I don't want it sugar coated." She placed her hands on her hips and took in the scene. "I don't even want to begin to imagine what the ship's systems look like."

"No worse than your house will look when you return. It is nice to hear Captain Mackenzie Archer again." The doctor paused and stared at his Captain. "Have you thought about how you're going to break this to them yet?"

"Not a clue, Matt is probably going to have to be revived from the shock." She sighed. "And I know Greg won't be talking to me for several months now. I'll sic Katie on them if the consolation is needed. It's a relief that Owen and Emily are still young. It can be explained eight times more simply to them."


	4. Estrangement

San Fran, August 2322

"Rumor has it that you're leaving the fleet." Jake met Derrick for lunch in the officer's club. "Granted that rumor is coming from neither Kenz nor Katie, so I don't know if there's actually any meat to it."

Derrick reached for his drink. "I gave notice this morning. I haven't even broached the subject with Kenz yet. But it would be nice to have one of us based on Terra permanently. Especially with Emily about to be a teenager."

"Firm or judicial?" Those were the only two reasons the Admiral would even consider leaving the fleet behind. "Or is it for the other reason Kenz has no clue about? And you survived Katie's teenage years perfectly fine. Granted Jon almost scared me away. Let Emily's dates deal with him. He still scares me to death half the time."

"First of all—Jon's bark is worse than his bite, everyone knows that eventually. They've tapped me to take over, it just happened to come at the same time I was offered a seat on the North American Circuit." The operative in him took over. "It'll be a nice transition. Plus they're going to offer Kenz Admiral in the next round. The fleet barely survived us both as Captains. Could you imagine it with both of us as brass?"

"The same way it'll be with Katie and Kenz both as brass." Jake reached for his own Admiral Pips. "I know those Reed-Archers like to be the first at things. But a child making Admiral before her parent even tops them."

"An Archer having a baby as an unmarried teenager is also not the norm." Derrick cracked a smile. "Trust me, when Kenz and I started dating it was the most bizarre thing to hear a ten year old call her Mom. She was petrified that Katie would make her a grandmother when she was 33. Matt having Nikki at 22 has been traumatic enough."

"For all three of them." Jake smiled widely. "Last time the Cochrane docked, the whole Lewis-Paris clan looked like they were ready for a breakdown. Nikki was the calmest of them all, and that doesn't say much. You're just laughing at the thought aren't you?"

"No it's such payback for the disaster he's put us through." The older Admiral smiled. "At least he was smarter than either of us were. I would've slapped him if he did the Irish twin thing. We were established and driven crazy by two kids in two years."

Jake cracked up laughing. "You think we would've learned our lesson from you. I saw how you were with Greg and Matt both in diapers. I should've convinced Katie to spread the kids out. Granted convincing Katie of anything is dammed near impossible."

"That's the Reed for you. It's alive and kicking in Owen. He's Kenz's payback for giving Jon hell for her teenage years. Jon by the way is loving it. I swear they should've never let him retire." Paris rolled his eyes at the thought of his father-in-law puttering around. "There's a reason why Dan worked up until the very end. I think it primarily was guilt. Plus, we're falling apart, as Bit's gotten weaker. They need me at the helm more than anything."

"I've seen the reports. Intelligence is really falling apart isn't it?" Jake looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do I even want to know how bad it is?"

"No. It's the primary reason for my resignation." Paris sighed. "It's about time that I shake it up back to what it used to be. Bit wanted me to do it 10 years ago I should have then. Now I just have a decade worth of rebuilding that needs to get done."

San Francisco, November 2325

The Admiral allowed her eyes to bug open as she read the report. She calmly muttered several curses under her breath. "I should've gone myself. I could've talked us out of such a giant mess." She sighed as she reached for the intercom. "Chris, can you get me my husband. I don't think he was in session this morning."

"I'm on it Admiral." The Ensign sighed. "Admiral Hansen is here, can I send him in?"

"Please do so." Mackenzie bit back tears as her colleague walked in. "I should've never had children Jake. What type of own mother sends her son to his death? I really think this will push Owen and Greg permanently away."

"First of all we don't know if they're actually gone Kenz." Jake slid into the chair opposite his mother-in-law. "Secondly, you approved the mission, that's all. It could've been any team that was on it. Take a deep breath, I have my people addicted to the sensors. They will find them. Derrick's going to tell you the same thing. Everything is going to work out okay."

"I left an innocent naïve child without her father." She put her head into her hands. "I've done it, it's not easy. Marissa shouldn't have to deal with raising her on her own."

"You were in a much different place than Marissa is. Yes she's young, but she has a solid head and a solid career. Nikki wasn't a teenage mistake that she has to answer to." Jake sighed. "You know. Katie ran her DNA through the system a few years ago. She knows and understands why you never said anything. I mean I knew you were a rebellious teenager, but getting involved with that monster was something I would've never expected."

"Charlotte's the only one that I ever told, I couldn't even bring myself to tell Derrick. It's something I still can't explain." Mackenzie allowed herself to smile. "When I brought him in finally—he admitted he never stopped loving me. Part of me was heartbroken when he died. Our relationship was so much different than the one I have with Derrick. If Owen and Emily weren't under a year, I might've let him go and gone back with him."

San Francisco, February 2326

"You can't ignore her forever Owen." Kaitlin walked into the solarium that adjoined the back of her mother's house. "You can avoid Mom all you like, but she's an insect that will not go away."

"You know she had to know that there was a risk sending them into those negotiations." The cadet stared at the young admiral. "Katie please tell me you don't think like an officer first and a parent second."

"The risk is usually worth the reward." Kaitlin looked out into the gardens. "I understand you're angry, he was my brother too. Think about that for a while would you? We're not talking about some minor mission, perhaps we should've sent a more experience mediator, but we had no clue it was going to turn that hostile."

"I just don't understand why it had to be Matt's team that you sent in, it was one of their first missions and you sent them." The young cadet sighed. "You could've sent anyone with more than Matt's 3 missions under his belt."

"Owen," Kaitlin sighed. "If we only ever sent the most experienced officers in, we'd have to put them into stasis and just take them out when needed. That's just impractical; the new generation is what we really need out in the field. Who's to say that even if Mom was the one there that we would've all made it out safe and with the ideal result? If you really feel that uncomfortable staying here, you can stay with us as long as you need to."

"I'm just going to need time to process this all, and I can't do that staying here. J.P. said you're a lot more rational than Mom on things. Seeing that him and Rene seem a lot calmer than me and Em I'll take his word on it." The cadet sighed. "Do you think she even knows what the long term consequences for this family are?"

"It's Mom." Kaitlin forced a smile. "The woman is brilliant but her major lacking is family relational skill. The fact that both of us survived my teenage years is still a minor miracle. She was lost without her rank and having me wanting nothing more than to be get into the Academy did not help."

"What was the reason for her hiatus?" Paris turned with interest to his sister. "They've never said anything but that Mom decided to leave Starfleet to pursue the diplomatic and teaching options."

"She lost a ship and two thirds of her crew." Kaitlin knew she was toeing the line even saying that much. "It changed her a lot. The woman that raised you was not the same woman who attempted to raise me."

"Did she resign voluntarily?" Paris took in the news that his mother wasn't always the perfect officer. "She must have if they gave her back her commission eventually."

"Access for over a year was restricted to Gamp and Der, that was it. Gamp because he had the power, Derrick because he was her attorney." The daughter shuddered at the memory of that year. "To put it nicely, it was a mutual decision that Mom step away from the fleet. It was her commission or years in the brig. I would've given up my career if those were my choices."

"Why has she never said anything than?" He looked at her in horror. "I mean people around Starfleet must know the story. You can't hide a ship's destruction that well."

"You can when your fiancée is Starfleet's golden boy Captain. Your father is a 5 star Admiral, and your Godmother is the Admiral that can elicit sympathy with barely a glance. Things were different then they are now." Kaitlin smiled. "My generation—we've changed things. Sometimes I don't know if it's for the better or not."

Utopia Plantia, September 2327

The Lieutenant Commander kneeled down next to her daughter and forced a smile. "You be good for Aunt Katie and Uncle Jake. I'll be home in four months. That means I want you on your best behavior Nicollet."

The Research Admiral smiled down at her. "She will be, you have nothing to worry about Marissa. And if she's not, I'll ship her over to Kenz and Der. It's amazing what a slight change of atmosphere can do. Plus, I think Mackenzie Archer has a scare factor without yelling."

"I personally like Mac just the way she is." The young girl looked up at her godfather. "I like that she never yells at anybody. Though I think she might yell at me if I ever called her Grandma."

"She probably would." Jake squeezed his goddaughter's shoulder. "Just don't ever call her that. Now let's let Mom actually board her ship before she gets in trouble for being late. Ok?"

The young girl gave her mother one last squeeze. "Have a good mission Mom." Nikki Lewis-Paris waved as her mother walked towards the beam up point. It was the first time since her father's death that she was watching her mother go out on ship. "Mom's definitely coming back right Uncle Jake?"

Jake kneeled down to her level. "You know I can't guarantee it Nik. But it's a simple survey mission, she shouldn't even have to see the Doctor." He took her by the hand as they turned to leave the yard. "Plus, just think of all the fun we'll have at the beach house next week."

"The Beach House is always fun." Nikki let her fear subside. "That is as long as Magnus doesn't try to throw me in the water."

"He was instructed to be on his best behavior." The Admiral cracked a smile. "If not, we'll send him to Mac and she can yell at him. You can ask Aunt Katie, Mac yelling is not a good thing."

San Francisco, August 2329

"Be civil with your mother please." Jake looked at the Lieutenant with a stern glare. "I don't want to hear about it for all eternity, and I will Owen."

"I got the riot act from Liza." Owen looked at him. "She said if I cause any issues with her wedding I will pay for it for all eternity. Does no one have any faith in me?"

"Not at all." J.P smiled at his best man. "We've known you and your temper way too long to even think about trusting you. Frankly, I'm not concerned about Mac, you've barely talked to her in 5 years. I'm concerned about Julia and the new boyfriend. Especially since you can't avoid Liza's maid of honor no matter how hard you try."

"We broke it off six months ago. It's not like it happened last week." Owen looked that the two of them. "It was for the best. We wanted different things. I'm not going to be that much of an ass. I promise."

"I'll believe it when I see it. You are so your grandfather Owen it's not even funny. He dumped your grandmother right before their first wedding because he wasn't ready to settle down." Jake chuckled. "Dumping the best thing that ever happened to you is not the smartest move you'll ever make Owen."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He gave a snarky sigh. "I've heard that from Dad since I could talk—it's nothing new at all Jake. And I would be more concerned about Mac, I haven't been in the same room with her since Matt's memorial service."

"It's about time you have a conversation with her. As psycho as the woman is, she did give birth to you." J.P. laughed. "And yes I know it's the fact that my crazy is a little more diluted that I'm talking about it."

Tahoe, January 2334

"Can I run something by you Aunt Katie?" Nikki stood at the door of her aunt's home office. "I'm starting to put the collegiate options together."

"Ah. You know the house is going to seem empty in two years." The Vice-Commandment put down the pad she was reading. "So what are you thinking?"

"Are my grades good enough for Starfleet Academy? Or would it be too much of a reach?" She plopped down on the couch across from her aunt. "I want to go the officer route, but I'm ready to take the alternate way if necessary."

"You have a couple of things going for you. For starters, you're a Starfleet Orphan, that always makes an applicant more enticing. Secondly, Paris helps these days." Kaitlin put on a smile. "Thirdly, the admissions committee knows who really wants it. The driven ones always get chosen over the brains. Finally, your grades are borderline, but that won't matter with the other three factors."

"So I have a fighting chance then?" Nikki looked relieved at the news. "I don't expect my acceptance to be handed to me on a platter obviously. I want to earn it as much as possible. But the boost would be nice."

"I think it's much easier to go the Academy route. I know Mac, Pops, and Uncle Jake didn't. But I also remember both Mac and Uncle Jake being miserable the whole time they were in candidate school." The Admiral rolled her eyes. "I just remember Uncle Jake falling asleep the first time we went out at night; snoring and all right in the middle of the concert. Mac barely made it out of the program, don't believe the myth that she sailed through. Plus, you have a better shot at a command specialty if you go Academy. Most officers that go candidate usually become professional officers like Uncle Jake. They take their specialty and work for Starfleet. I'll see what I can do about it too. Graduating first in your class allows you to have some influence—even years later."

January, 2337

"So this is the latest?" J.P. looked at Owen. "Deep Space assignment as an escape. What did you do now?"

"I have nothing holding me back here. Why not?" He sighed. "It's not your XO position, but it's the senior staff position I've been waiting for."

"And I say it's about 3 weeks until you run into problems with some Junior Lieutenant or Ensign." Liza Hansen joined her husband and their best friend. "I know it has to do with you running into Julia and the baby. Don't try to argue with me."

"You're seven months pregnant. Emily's due next week." Owen shook his head. "You're all settled even Jules, and I have no idea as to what's going on with my love life. What does that say about me compared to the rest of our Academy crew?"

"That you never matured past nineteen." She laughed. "And your own father didn't settle down to he was well into his forties. It's explainable. Some men aren't set to settle down until they have your careers. And there are women who will marry them then. We'll just say you are one of those guys."

"Plus as Mac would say, Starfleet needs reckless unattached officers to take these missions." J.P. smiled. "And you're baby phobic. You'll come back when all these kids are walking and talking. You're escaping—and I'm saying this as your best friend. DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID ON THAT SHIP OWEN! Because it'll cause a blown gasket, and it's only fair that the cause is the one who deals with it."

San Fran, 2338

"I'm fine Uncle Jake." The second year stood across from her uncle with her arms crossed. "The pressure is not getting to me yet. Nor am I going to let the pressure get to me."

"You have one of Aunt Katie's infamous stress knots bubbling between your shoulders Nik." The Admiral came to his full height. "Take a breather why don't you? You don't need to do physical training yet again over your next break."

"I have to prove I deserve my commission when I graduate." Nikki sighed. "You don't know what it's like going to the Academy as a Paris. Or for that matter the child of two dead officers who both graduated in the top five of their class. I'm supposed to have the brains and the determination of both of them. That alone means I better graduate first in my class."

"There's a way not to buckle to the pressure. You're Nikki Lewis-Paris, not Matthew Paris of Marissa Lewis. There was a reason Aunt Katie and I both tried to turn you away from Starfleet." Jake sighed. "My new intern just started. He needs to get to know San Fran, why don't you spend the rest of the day showing him around. I'm going to set the two of you up. You need the break, he needs to learn the city. Brian reminds me a lot of me when I went through the whole process. Granted, he doesn't need to deal with Pops' class, but the adjustment is still a tough one to make."

"Okay. The Cadet allowed a small smile to escape. "But you're going to owe me."

"Trust me, I won't." The Admiral reached for his coffee. "I know what is best for you Nik. You just seem to forget that most of the time."

Outer Banks, May 2340

"I'm starting to decide that you got my insanity Nikki." Mackenzie finished helping her granddaughter get ready. "You only graduated this morning. You could've at least waited until next weekend. I know you're in love and all, but rushing it might not be the best thing."

"This from the woman who had a child at 17." The recently commissioned Ensign beamed. "It's what I want Mac. I want to spend the rest of my life with Brian, why wait? Maybe there is some sanity in the way I work."

"First of all I didn't get married at 17. Getting married 2 months out of the Academy worked for your parents." The Admiral smiled warmly. "Granted I blew a gasket when I found out your mother was pregnant."

"Wasn't that a little hypocritical?" Nikki raised an eye at her grandmother. "Remind me again how old you were when you had Aunt Katie."

"One teenage pregnancy-and I didn't marry the asshole that got me pregnant—I totally got him out of my life. I got married at 33 and waited until I was 35 until I had your father. I was not an ensign with a newborn." Mackenzie cracked a laugh. "I was young and stupid, but most days I don't regret unleashing Aunt Katie on the universe."

"I'm not being totally insane am I?" The Ensign looked for assurance. "I mean other cadets have gotten married this soon after graduation right?"

"You just want to drop Paris. And I agree that Ensign Paris just doesn't sound right. I blame it on Pops entering the fleet at Lieutenant." The Grandmother smiled at the bride. "You do look beautiful Nik. You chose the right dress and the right guy."

"I know it's the best way to guarantee that we get the same ship posting." The Bride in her took over. "I don't want to be stationed 1000 light years from Brian. I don't want that long distance of a relationship."

"And I don't blame you for that. It can be torture, I know that." The Admiral in her took over. "Now let's get you married, before I have to pick your Uncle Jake up from having a heart attack. He is so not ready to let you go."


	5. Prodigal Sons

Near Vulcan, May 2341

"You couldn't have convinced Mac that we needed bigger quarters?" The Doctor finished unloading the boxes into their new tiny quarters on the Clark. "I'm sure there could've been a way."

"No Special Privileges. She doesn't care if I'm her granddaughter or not." Nikki set the vases on the credenza. "Plus, it's only a year mission. Worse comes to worse you can just move into sickbay."

"Your sarcasm isn't the reason I fell in love with you Nik." Brian snuck up behind his wife and picked her up. "I love you despite it."

"I know you do." She kissed her husband. The chime on their quarter doors rang. "I really think there's a conspiracy against us. For all the interruptions I've been through with this transfer, I deserve a promotion."

"You didn't know romance ended after the first wedding anniversary? Plus, you've said itself Paris's don't have babies until they have 4 pips." Brian put his wife down and went to answer the door. "Commander."

"I'm just making the rounds and making sure all our Senior Staff are getting settled." The First Officer paused. "The Captain and I want everyone adjusted into the ship before we depart tomorrow."

"You're checking up on me." Nikki joined her husband and smiled. "You who won't talk to most of your own family, it's actually pretty sweet. I'm questioning your mental state, but it's still pretty sweet Owen."

"I do too talk to some of my own family. I'm standing here aren't I?" Owen questioned his niece. "Plus, I figured it was about time I meet the man you married a whole 3 minutes out of the academy. I figured I didn't want to fully scare Lieutenant Rosen away."

"Your father didn't. I consider that a testament to my strength." The Doctor gripped his wife's hand. "I just hope you're going to treat me like any other Medical Officer Sir."

October 2341

Commander Owen Paris walked into the Clark's gym ready to put in a full conditioning workout. Between the crew transfers and the latest upgrades the first officer could feel the stress building up in his muscles, it was time to bang it all out. A young crewman absentmindedly walked into him. "I'm so sorry Commander; I guess I just wasn't paying attention to what I was doing." She gushed as her face turned beet red.

"It's not a problem. Crewman." She couldn't have been more than nineteen, probably one of the fresh recruits out of boot camp that they were saddled with for the next year. "I'm not quite sure we've met yet."

"Slone, sir. Matilda Slone." She recovered her dignity and faced the ship's number two. "I just got my orders last week. Of course we wouldn't have met. This ship has a complement of 450, and I'm just one of the lowly supply clerks working down on deck 29."

"Well then let me welcome you aboard Crewman Slone." Owen smiled back sarcastically at her. "You don't have to get embarrassed for your little mistake."

"Just a second." Crewman Amy Weber rose from the couch in her shared quarters. Her new roommate was better than the previous one, but she yearned for life as an officer with her own private and spacious quarters. "Commander Paris, can I help you?"

"I was told that these are Crewman Slone's quarters she had a run in with this afternoon, I feel I owe her an apology." Owen paused. "Is she here by any chance?"

"I'll go get her sir." Weber had never seen the first officer go any lower than engineering in the year she had been on the ship. The rumor going around was that the young commander was fleet royalty, but no one had been able to find any truth to that. "I would offer for you to come in, but your closet is probably bigger than our whole quarters."

"Thank-you." He stood stoically outside the tiny crew quarters. Matilda nervously walked out to join him in the hallway. "I owe you an apology for my arrogance."

She looked up at. "To be honest sir, I expected you to be more arrogant. Rumor around this ship is that you're fleet royalty. I know from just seeing news vids that fleet royalty always has the absolute fake insincerity to them."

"Why don't we go someplace and talk." Owen looked at his subordinate and raised an eyebrow. "I really do owe you more than a simple apology."

Near Tellarite, January 2142

"You know you're setting yourself up for Mac blowing a gasket. Trust me she will, no son of hers would ever do what you're doing." The Tactical Officer sipped her tea as she sat across from her ship's XO. "I want popcorn and a front row seat for that show."

"First of all it's disrespectful to talk to your elder's that way." Paris looked at her. "Secondly, I can count on my hands the amount of meaningful conversations I've had with her in the last fifteen years. Thirdly, it's dam well none of your business Nik."

Nikki raised an eyebrow at her uncle. "I'm not the one sleeping with a nineteen year old fresh out of boot camp. You get Matilida pregnant; forget about ever getting a command of your own. Though I do wonder what that would be like. Brian and I are saying nothing, be thankful we know how to keep some things quiet. It's killing me that I can't call Rene and tell her all of this."

"I'm sure it is. Especially since she would give Emily and Liza full reports in a matter of minutes, Liza would then make it a point to pull J.P. away from his center chair, who in turn would make a point of calling Katie immediately. Katie then would pass it on to Dad who would have no choice but to tell Mac, leading to the blown gasket. I don't need that implosion of a chain just yet." Paris rolled his eyes. "And not for nothing, Pops was commanding the team that Mac was on when they met."

"Yeah, but Pops was never Mac's commanding officer and we both know it. Plus you tell J.P. and you eliminate 2 links of your imploding chain." She smiled. "She's nineteen, nineteen. You do remember what you were like at nineteen? That's when you stopped talking to your own mother, do you not remember that? She has no clue that Mac's your mother, does she? You haven't even told her that yet."

Near Andoria, February 2342

"Crewman, you're in." The Lieutenant Commander nodded at her across the small conference room. "You do understand what the training and the program actually do entail? It would mean fully changing your life."

"I wouldn't have applied if I didn't Sir." She tucked her foot under her leg. "It's not like I have much of a life to give up here. I grew up in such an ugly situation that I plan on never even going near my family again. When would I start?"

"Not for another year at the earliest." He paused. "Your scores were off the charts, the Director wants you fully covert. That'll give us enough time to get a story ready, even if you have no family, we just can't randomly drop you from existence. Come down to sickbay for a medical later on this week. I want to start you on the supplement regime as soon as possible."

"It won't be a problem." She smiled at the thought that she was going to be able to put her traumatic childhood behind her. It was time for Matilda Slone and her difficult life to be no longer. The idea of waiting over a year would just be torture.

Later that night, the commander sighed as he leaned back against the head board of his bed. He smiled at the young woman who was curled up in the crook of his arm. "You know someone is going to figure us out one of these days." He whispered into her hair.

"We're discreet enough, and it helps that Emily and I are on opposite shifts, she has no clue I'm not sleeping in my bunk." Matilda smiled up at him and ran a finger along his bare chest. "Plus I'm sure you're not the first officer to ever get involved with a subordinate."

"I know I'm not, though I might be the first to ever fall in love with a woman that's barely a crewman." Owen kissed the top of her head. "Something's bugging you Mati; I can sense it in your face."

"It's nothing." She forced a smile; there was still major discomfort from the procedure she had undergone earlier in the day. The Commander didn't need to know what she did; it just wasn't feasible to inform him of everything that was going on in her life. "It's probably just from that horrible stew they served in the mess hall tonight. I'll be fine."

He climbed out of bed. "Let me just scan you over to make sure you're fine." Owen came out of his bathroom with a medical tricorder, and ran it over her. "Shit, we're not going to keep this secret that much longer Mati."

"What's wrong?" Matilda looked up at his pissed but elated face. She was thankful that it only showed one, if he had scanned her a few hours earlier his face wouldn't have been nearly as elated. It was going to complicate her transition, but she could deal with that. She could worry about their other children later on. "No, we've been careful, I can't possibly be. Are you sure?"

"Tricorders don't lie about these results." He kissed her. "We're back in sol next week, we'll figure it out fully then. I have connections amongst Brass, and you and our child are a lot more important than my career could ever possibly be."

San Fran, March 2342

Owen stood nervously in the foyer of his parents' house; it had been several years since he had been back in San Francisco. He looked up to see his mother coming down the stairs. "I need to talk to Dad."

"Ok." Mackenzie paused. "He had a late hearing he should be home in a few minutes, at least come in and have a seat. You're not going to die from sitting in the same room and having a conversation with me Owen."

"I really want to talk to Dad before I talk to you. I don't want you to have to deal between me and the fleet and I'm not sure what the legal answers are going to be." Owen sighed. "I don't know what the regulations for me being involved with a subordinate."

"How involved is involved?" Mackenzie smiled. "Because there are very different levels of involvement. Some would require me to do nothing; some would require me to discharge you."

"I need to talk to Dad. JP told me not to mention anything to you until I talk to legal counsel." He looked at his mother. He knew his best friend was right with the advice. "But needless to say I know why Dad almost gave up his career for you."

The exhausted judge walked into his house ready for a quiet night of not having to entertain on his wife's behalf. The last of the sentencing hearings were finally done with, there were no more briefs to read, no more decisions to be written. "Kenz." Derrick called out to his wife figuring if she was at home she was hard at work in her study.

"We're in the living room." She popped her head into the foyer. "Owen is here. He has some legal questions that he needs to discuss with you. Why don't you two talk and I'll go make dinner."

Mackenzie left her husband and son staring at each other in the living room. The Judge looked over at his son. "How bad is it Owen? Believe me your mother never offers to prepare dinner. I married a genius, not a woman with culinary skill."

"It's bad Dad." He sighed. "I've become romantically involved with a subordinate. She's not an officer Dad. She's a crewman."

"How young of a crewman Owen, and how serious has this relationship gotten exactly?" The former admiral sighed, he had gotten report on the situation 2 weeks earlier, and his son didn't need to know that he knew way more than he ever wanted to know. "I don't feel like defending your mother with a temporary insanity defense."

"When Mom lost the Zeppelin you were ready to give up your career for her weren't you? You would've thrown it all away if given the choice of her or Starfleet." His father nodded. "I know why you felt you would've made that choice if necessary."

"You're really in love with this girl then?" The judge knew he had no clue as to who this girl really was or would become. Derrick knew she would be the best op he ever saw. "And by crewman I'm taking it she hasn't been in the fleet that long."

"It's her first assignment out of boot camp. Nikki and Brian felt it was best that I talk to you before anything." His father cringed. "She's pregnant. I will be there for Matilda and the baby, I'm just concerned Mom and her cronies are going to blow a gasket and I'll be out of a career."

"Mom doesn't blow gaskets. She hasn't in a long time; she is a distinguished and respected Admiral and Diplomat." Derrick smiled knowingly at his son. "You're just lucky that she's desperate for a grandchild to mold in her image. Is this Matilda on shore leave now also?" His son nodded. "Why don't you contact her and have her come here. I'll talk to your mother, and maybe even convince her to order an edible dinner in. Emergency field rations are more appetizing than her cooking."

"Well." Mackenzie looked up from the chopping she was doing. "How bad is it actually, am I going to be blowing a major gasket when he comes in here?"

"You are not allowed to blow a gasket; it's the only way I convinced Owen to talk to you." Derrick massaged the pronounced knot out of his wife's upper back. "Put down the knife Kenz, I'm going to call and have them deliver dinner. Owen will be back in a little bit."

"Be honest with me, how involved is he, and she's a green ensign isn't she?" Mackenzie sighed. "I knew that's what it was. He's bringing her back, and she has no clue that I am who I am."

"She's not an ensign Kenz. She's a crewman on her first assignment out of boot camp." Derrick watched his wife's face. "Owen is bringing her for dinner, let's at least meet her, before you sentence him to life in the brig."

"She's not. He didn't. Even my father wasn't that stupid when he was going through his player phrase." Mackenzie sighed, and then hit the knife against the countertop. "How could he have been that stupid?"

"He's crazy about her. He's will give up his career if that's the only way he can marry her. We're talking about our son who's never accepted personal responsibility for anything. He's ready to do it for her." He whispered into his wife's ear.

San Fran, February 2343

Kaitlin took her nephew from her brother as he walked into their mother's house. She took one look at his face and let her maternal instinct kick fully in. "I've only seen her name on a preliminary list. Mom's out on assignment for a few days, so you're avoiding a good chunk of the I told you so's. How are you holding up?"

"I'm in a routine with him. The parenting thing isn't that difficult." The commander tried to smile. "Would it be easier if his mother was with me? Of course it would be. But as Mom would say I created my own problem when I got involved with a green recruit in the first place. Do you mind playing Grandma for a little bit?"

"Of course not." She smiled as she bounced her nephew. The admiral shooed him into her step-father, there was no point in even implying they knew exactly what was going on. "Der's in the kitchen, use him for your legal options. Then eat something, get a nap in, not for nothing you look horrible Owen. I'll manage Tom for a few hours."

"You can say I told you so Dad." He sighed as he plopped onto the bar stool underneath the kitchen counter. "I know I am fully responsible for this whole mess that's going on."

"Only partly." The judge sipped his coffee. "It's not the first time someone has gone AWOL. I mean it just happens that the young crewman that went AWOL off the enterprise 3 days ago has a son with a Commander in charge of a major program out of Utopia. What do you actually know about the process?"

"I sort of slept through my semester of Starfleet judicial procedures, the only way I passed the final was because J.P. crammed me with the essential facts in one overnighter." Owen sighed again. "I guess it's coming back to haunt me now."

"You were just lucky you didn't sleep through my judicial procedures class. With me dozing off was an automatic failure." The Judge gave him a raised eyebrow "I'll see about having Katie assign Julia Finley as the JAG for Matilda's case. You'll be better if you have someone who knows you running the case. I'm assuming after all this time you two are on speaking terms?"

"We're civil with each other. I ran into her at the launch." Owen sighed. "I mean as civil as we can be, seeing that I broke off our engagement 3 weeks before the wedding. The I hate you's have been gone for a while. A messy divorce and custody case makes me seem a lot less like a prick."

"Yeah it does. Especially since when it comes to these cases Julia is the best of the best." Derrick smirked at his son. "These cases can never look good. So don't hold out too much hope."

San Fran, May 2344

He had gotten them the day after their wedding. It was a conversation Brian knew would be needed to have with his former XO eventually. "Tom has a twin. Matilida had me put the baby into stasis the day she found out she was pregnant. It's your call Owen what I do with the baby."

"I'm carrying the baby." Julia didn't even blink with her response, she noticed her husband's face. "Listen, Tom's already calling me Mommy."

"Why did I never know about all of this?" Owen gripped his new wife's hand. "Don't give me any doctor-patient privilege bullshit either Brian."

"She didn't know what she wanted." The doctor sighed. "Bottom line was she was my patient and I had to respect her wishes. I don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl. All I know is that it is a fraternal twin to Tom."

"Bri's right. It's the past, she's your past O. What's there to think about? Kathleen's already nine, it makes the most sense." She smiled. "I never wanted kids spread out, we do it this way—Tom and the baby will be three years apart. I want our kids to be as close as you and Emily are."

"I'm just worried you'll regret it." Owen reached for her hand. "I mean, the baby won't be ours, it'll be mine."

"No, it'll be our child. Just because I didn't give birth to Tom doesn't mean he's not my son." She smiled. "I already like him better than Kathleen. He's just so much more flexible of a child. We don't even need to raise the baby thinking anything other than he or she is my child."

San Francisco, 2350

"I think it makes sense to take the risk and go for it Mac." The young scientist sat across from his grandmother. "I mean Mom is still trying to talk us out of it, but come on if no one took risks."

"We would get no where. I preach that Magnus." The Admiral sighed. "But I'm siding with your parents on this one. Do you and Erin really want to raise your daughter on a tin can light years away from Federation space?"

"It's my work. And there's so much in these files, you can't tell me that you and Charlotte were never curious about any of it. I mean they freaking classified your grandmother's life because of these files." He sighed again. "Plus, I'm not going to raise my daughter the way you raised Mom. We want Annika to have the stability of both parents."

"Your mother came out perfectly fine in the end. And trust me, if it came to me staying involved with her father or doing it the way I did, there is no doubt I made the right choice." Mackenzie sighed. "Just don't do anything too stupid, a child raised by a single parent is just as good a child raised by a pair of nutjobs."

"It can't be that dangerous." He leaned back in his chair. "We'll be gone six months at most. Annika will be in kindergarten right here in San Francisco. It was because of fate that I found that file. I mean if Brian hadn't thrown that football through the window, it could've been there for another 150 years."

"I know." She forced a smile on her face. "Just remember I grew up hearing the tall tales from that ship. My grandmother readily admitted that she knew squat about what went on out there. They didn't know what to believe after a while. And this from the very practical daughter of 2 officers that weren't guarding the secrets."

Outer Banks, August 2351

"Any news yet?" Jake leaned against his wife's office door. "Or are we giving up on it?"

"We're not giving up on our idiot son just yet." Kaitlin looked up. "I still can't believe my mother gave him the files."

"Destroying an Admiral is not the answer Katie." He slid into the chair across from his wife and gripped her hand. "Even if you technically outrank her. Nikki's conducting massive scans, she'll find something."

"What if she doesn't? WE should have insisted they leave Annika with us." She sighed. "I mean we never took our kids on ship with us."

"We were in a different place." Jake looked at his wife with a raised eyebrow. "One of us always had a planet posting. We were lucky with that, Nikki was lucky with that."

"WE did what we had to do." Kaitlin smiled. "She came out as well as our own kids. I just hope she gives us an answer any way possible." She arched back her shoulders hoping to break loose the stress knot that had developed.

Jake walked around to stand behind his wife. "Let me at least work out that stress knot before it destroys you." He kneaded the back of her neck. "You pulled the file didn't you?"

"It wasn't an easy decision to make." She turned the screen so they could read it together. "It was the reason they redacted most of the files in the first place. Jules is seeing if she can pull any of the research files. You know, he never even thought about dating after she went missing. Gamp was adamant that I wasn't raised the way he was."

"Kenzie also never even came close to doing what her grandmother did." Jake squeezed his wife's shoulders. "We'll get an answer on Mag and Erin. WE'll work to get the answer."


	6. Zeta

Starfleet Headquarters, April 2364

"If I have to say my son the Captain by the time Maura finishes medical school, you will never hear the end of it Tom." Julia speared a piece of her salad. "How the hell did you manage that score

Tom smiled at his stepmother. "Something tells me I'm not the first officer to make full Lieuntenant in under 2 years."

"You're the first in a long while Tom, it was common back years ago. But it was only the exceptional of the exceptional." She smiled broadly. "I mean we're talking James T. Kirk. That's how significant it is. Don't downplay it."

"Yes Ma'am. But I'm still taking that position on the Exeter. I'd be stupid not to." He smiled. "Yes it's only the helm, but it means the bridge post I need."

"Any bridge post is a smart move if you want a ships career." Julia looked at him. "You can always decide later if you want to go to medical or law school. Your academic record would support both."

_San Francisio, April 2366_

"_You can go right in. The Admiral is expecting you sir." Lieutenant Commander Thomas Eugene Paris knew it probably killed the Lieutenant sitting at the desk in front of him to address him as sir. She had to be at least five or six years older than him. Being a wonder kid from the line did have its pluses he thought._

"_The trip wasn't too bad I take it." Mackenzie was pacing around her office while reviewing a pad. "I hope you're not too annoyed with me calling you in with no explanation."_

"_There's a method to your madness. I know that Mac." The young office shook his head at the piles of pads on the Admiral's desk. "Let me guess your reason. Dad pissed you off about something trivial and you want reasoning behind throwing him in the brig for a few months."_

"_Very funny. The last time I even thought about throwing him in the brig was when he came home with the news that you were in utero. I've learned to control my temper since then." The Admiral dismissed her grandson's glaring eyes. "Okay, I've learned to redirect my negative energy more efficiently in the last twenty-six years. There is an official reason for me calling you in."_

"_You're transferring me off the Exeter aren't you?" Tom sighed. "You know I'm finally getting into a routine. I'm in line to make an XO position a lot earlier than Dad did."_

"_I'm transferring you off the Exeter, but not to keep you in stasis until you become an Admiral. You're more cynical than your Grandfather. That is not a good thing Tom." She plopped down into her desk chair. "I'm giving you two options. Option A, enroll in medical school, you have the academic creds for it and we need more CMO's who actually have command skills. Option B, Zeta, I want a strong pilot commanding it this time."_

"_You did just offer me Zeta?" He looked at the floor in shock then back at his Grandmother. "Did I hear you correctly? I mean usually those teams are headed by officers with a little more field experience."_

"_Yes you did hear me correctly. Of course it's a multi-year assignment that comes with the promotion to full commander. You don't need to answer me right now; you can wait a few days."_

"_I know what my answer is Mac." He grinned from ear to ear. "You are going to give me a chance to pack up my quarters on the Exeter I hope."_

"_You're due on Caldick Prime in 3 months. You're getting a month of shore leave in between; I suggest you use it to rest up. We've already tapped your engineer and your medical officer. I'm expecting you three to review the files for prospective team members." She smiled at him. "You're having lunch with Lieutenants Jackson and Morch in two hours. The officers club is expecting you. As for temporary quarters for the next three days, you're staying at the house. We barely see enough of you and you're here so no point in trying to arrange for the barracks."_

"_What if I had turned it down and took the medical school option?" He inquired. "You seemed awfully sure of yourself that I would accept."_

"_You wouldn't have turned me down. Pops accepted it blindly seventy years ago. Plus my side of the family never turns down command offers, it's against our heritage."_

"Commander Paris." The man slid beside him at the bar. "Todd Jackson. I think you're expecting me."

"It's Tom. We're going to be working as a team; we can cut out all the Commander and sir business Todd." Tom smiled at Todd Jackson; they seemed to be about the same age. "Now are you medical or engineering?"

"Medical." Todd looked at him with an aghast expression. "I graduated the Academy as a tactical officer with the pre-med sequence. Got assigned to a two year tour, 18 months in I was basically told my next assignment would be medical school. Some hogwash about needing CMO's who didn't need to be trained to command."

"It was probably Admiral Archer, she just gets these ideas in her head that things need to be done her way and she does it." Tom chuckled. "And then she does them. She's so Dan Reed's granddaughter it's scary."

"You've actually met her; you must really have connections then Tom." Todd looked at him. "Most of us minion officers just know her as a living myth and legend."

"She's my grandmother." Tom shook his head. "Not nearly as exciting and nepotistic as it sounds. Have you met Lieutenant Morch yet?"

"She was a plebe of mine. Brilliant engineer, the Bolians hate that she chose Starfleet. They want her running their science bureau." Todd smiled. "However, she has this inability to ever be on time, you'll just have to get used to it."

"Thanks for the warning, I guess." Tom raised an eyebrow. "The Admiral said she'll be getting me the crew roster tomorrow. We'll set up a time to start going over it."

London, June 2368

Her perfect figure was clad in a tight sweater, short skirt, and tall boots; she walked into the office. "I'm here to see the Justice, I'm expected." She spoke softly to the young officer at the desk. He simply nodded as he stared mesmerized at the woman in front of him. She was Harlot; she was Section 31.

It had been 28 years since that bubbly 17 year-old fled her abusive childhood. It had been 27 years since the Admiral had fallen for the young crewman. It had been 26 years since that young vulnerable woman went awol in order to create Harlot.

"Cider steamed." Harlot walked over to the replicator and picked up the steaming mug. "As you see, we're coping with the changes. It hasn't been easy—I need to rebuild."

"I see." The Judge paused. "Are there any that you have in mind, I trust your people will know how to handle their transitions."

"Yes, we have our eyes on several." Harlot handed the pad she was carrying over. "If you can get them into situations that we can work with, we will handle it accordingly. Thankfully we don't need to fully rebuild the covert forces. I can handle with not having Starfleet ops on most ships."

"I'll do my best." The former Admiral smiled at her. "It's going to be a challenge, we both know that."

_Caldick Prime, December 2368_

_Morch and Todd walked into the local bar together. "I assume Tom is buying tonight, we deserve at least that much for busting our chops for the last month." They approached their commanding officer._

_"You know you might set a record if we keep these flights consistent. Captian Tom Paris does have a nice ring to it, and your collar could use the fourth pip before you lose all your hair." Morch teased, they had built up a repotoire that was beyond what most officers had. "And I know now that when you get your fist command, yours truly will be in your engine room."_

_"And that one won't be in my sickbay." Todd glared at Tom. "You belong on the bridge in the chair next to me. No question about it. You're a command office not a doctor Todd."_

_Harlot watched them from the end of the bar, they were on her short list for the group of operatives they would begin training in a few months. The issue was just figuring out how to convince them that was the life they were waiting for. She coyly smiled as their commanding officer walked in. "I guess you two are expecting me to pick-up the whole tab tonight." Tom winked at her as he slid into the booth next to Morch._

"_You're not allowed to bring her home tonight Tom." Todd looked at him. "You promised me that you wouldn't even think about it."_

"_Flirting never hurt though. She's all alone. I'm going to ask her to join us." Tom sprinted up and went to sit down next to the woman. "My team is celebrating hitting a most major milestone tonight. Why don't you join us? I won't notice one more on the tab."_

"_I don't know, I'm just passing through and my next shuttle leaves early tomorrow morning." He gave her the look. Harlot gave the fib of her life. "I don't even know your name, and my mother always taught me not to accept drinks from strangers."_

"_It's Tom. And those two will tell you I'm trust worthy enough." He smiled at her. "What about you, you must have a name, I make it a point to never buy drinks for a woman who's name I don't know."_

"_Ally." Harlot used the alias she always used when traveling. "You sure your team won't have a problem with me joining y'all?"_

"_They're used to me being the biggest Flirt in the bar Ally." Tom smiled at Harlot. "If I don't bring a beautiful woman over, they wonder what is wrong with me. So are you traveling on business or pleasure?"_

"_A little of both Tom." Harlot looked at the son she gave up years before. "I recently left a job, I'm traveling to a lead for a new one."_

_Todd and Tom had just left to get the fifth round of the night. Harlot looked at the lieutent sitting at the table with her. "I'll have to make this quick before Tom comes back. London has major plans for you._

_The Bolian looked at her with interest. "I assume these are covert ops since you're obviously talking to me in an informal setting when my commander when to get drinks. What exactly are we talking?"_

"_Section 31." Harlot paused. "I'll be very honest with you, I've never been turned down and I don't ever expect to be."_

_Morch looked back at her. "You're name isn't Ally and you're not a freighter navigator, there was just something about you that didn't seem to fit your story."_

"_I've been under for more years than I ever lived in my birth life." Harlot looked up to see Tom walking back with the drinks. "My people will be in touch with in the next few weeks." Morch nodded at what the woman was saying it was her silence acceptance that she would take the challenge._

San Francisco, January 2369

Julia helped her ten-year-old daughter put the cookies into the oven. The Director of Starfleet Tactical Services looked out the window of her spacious kitchen. Her son had stopped in for a surprise visit, the pressure she hoped he would avoid was bottling up. Most days she liked Matilda's children a lot more than her first born, she hated to see Tom crack.

"So what do you think Dad?" Father and son sat in the den together. The young Commander looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't they beautiful results?"

"Quite so." Owen smiled at his only son. Every time Tom accomplished something, he was forced to think of her and how she was lost before she even got to know their headstrong twins. "I have to say these are beyond anything we expected, I still don't know how you do it."

"I have a gift." He looked cockily at his father. "It's all about positive thinking and knowing that if you fail one day, you have no option but to improve your results the next."

"I'd keep that attitude Tom." The father looked at his son. "You know your eyes light just like Matilda's when you get that look."

"How do you think she would've reacted to all of this? All I've ever gotten was that you had a thing with a crewman and she was AWOL when I was barely four months old." Tom paused. "I know there was more to it than that Dad. Mom is mom, there's absolutely no question about that, she was the one who raised me, but I would like to know more about her one of these days."

"It's just tough to talk about her Tom, our relationship was very vague." The Admiral sighed. "Mom is the love of my life there is no question about it, I was just lucky that I realized what I stupidly threw away before it was too late. As for Matilda it was an unexplainable lust. We were from two different universes. She gave me you and for that I'm eternally grateful for those 15 months we had together."

"Listen, I understand Dad. It was a blemish on your career, it kept you paused for the better part of a decade." He nodded knowingly. "If you don't want to talk about it, I get it. I mean you can't even get anything on her in the Starfleet Database, but then again I guess they don't exactly keep information on enlisted crewmembers that served less than two years."

"Nothing on her in the database? Not even her name and her time of service?" Owen looked blankly at his son who nodded. "There should at least be that much, I'll check it and let you know what I find."

"Thanks Dad, now am I getting a promotion or not?" The Commander couldn't help but bring-up his stellar performance. "Go ahead and tell me I sound like a Reed, that's the whole point of it." The elder Paris punched his son in the arm and rolled his eyes.

Julia walked out with a pitcher of tea and joined her two men. "If I age myself by having to say my son the Captain, you will never hear the end of it Tom. I'm way too young and vibrant to be a Captain's mother." She sat down next to her husband.

"I wouldn't worry about that Mom. Plus they all know that I'm a quick rising anomaly thus there's no way I have old parents." Tom teased his mother. "Plus, think of it this way you can have an Admiral and a Cadet at the same time."

"That's a very comforting thought Tom." She smiled back at her son and cracked up laughing. "But that's been done already, and the Cadet didn't speak to the Admirals for years either."

"I spoke to Katie the whole time." Owen interrupted the banter. "You two never lived with Mac, that's now and always has been my defense."

_Caldick Prime, February 2369_

_"__Just a second." The Commander put the items in his hands into the box then went to answer his door. "You start packing yet Doc?"_

"_I'm not nearly as thrilled and ready as you are Sir." Todd smirked at Paris. "Plus we still have a month of these tests to follow through on."_

"_That's what I hate about you scientists; you're always way too practical Todd." Paris sighed. "Come on, we know it's going to go perfectly. Plus, we're making history here."_

"_You and your history crap." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Our job is to do the best that we possibly can and hope it all goes well in the end. You broach the subject with Mor yet?"_

"_What the fact that I've fallen crazily in love with her?" He fell back onto the couch. "Is it that obvious?"_

"_Yes, but she's so absorbed in the latest tests I doubt she knows." Todd cracked up laughing. "It's not going to be that easy once we get on the Columbia, she might not know, but to the rest of us it's pretty plain and simple."_

"_I mean we joke about it all the time, I doubt she would take any notion of me being serious about it seriously." He looked at his best friend in frustration. "Please she's like one of my sisters."_

"_Yeah, but a romance from a friendship usually works better than pure sexual tension." The doctor stood to leave. "Any offspring of you two would probably need a permanent bed in my sickbay."_

"_I doubt she even feels the same way." He rolled his eyes. "Quit being so romantic- you won't be treating our child for regular injuries. Plus, I'd have to deal with the ramifications of Mom and Aunt Nikki, remind me never to do anything to get on their bad side?"_

"_What the directors of Tactical and Intelligence aren't dangerous people." Todd cracked up laughing. "Plus you know how you're mother would do anything to be a grandmother."_

Two Days later

"Mor, how do my engines look?" The Commander called out to his engineer. "I'm ready to get her out, and see what this beauty can do at high warp."

"Here are the readouts, decide for yourself Tom." The Bolian handed over the pad with her latest readings, and then decided it was best to save him by trying to warn that the flight was going to fail. "It looks good to me, but remember it's not necessary to do this test."

"I've led this team to milestones for the last two and a half years; I'm not going to stop now." Paris punched his arm into the table in front of him. "We have three days left of this project, I'm not about to start acting like a wuss now."

"You really want to risk it then Tom?" She looked up at him. "There is no guarantee that we'll even come close to achieving success with this flight. No one will think any less of your achievements if we scratch this flight."

"We're test pilots Mor; we're supposed to be taking risks." Paris ran a hand through his hair. "Plus we have safety controls and you on board, what is there to possibly worry about?"

"You know you're way to overconfident Tom." Morch rolled her eyes. "I'm not quite sure is it because of genetics or skill, but you definitely take the prize."

"It's only because I got blessed with the best possible team." Paris looked at her and smiled coyly. "If it wasn't for you I would never ever come close to achieving any of these results."

"The flirting and the flattery do not work on me Tom." She punched him in the arm. "Save it for some young ensign that can become infatuated with the name and the rank."

"I take offense to that." He smiled as he watched her walk towards the shuttle. "Would you mind if I took the flight with you guys?"

"Did Todd give you clearance?" She raised an eyebrow at him nervously. "It might be your team, but I don't want anyone without full medical clearance on this flight."

"I'm never going to be allowed into your engine room when we get her am I Mor?" He looked hurt. "You win, but you're going to owe me the flight tomorrow, I'll have Todd run the clearance."

"Of course I'm not allowing you anywhere near my engines." She turned and gave him a big hug. "I'm not stupid, now wish me luck."

"You're not going to need it, but I'll do it anyway." He held her tight. "Just bring my ship back looking perfect."

"You know we always do." The Bolian slipped out of his embrace and put on a weak smile as she walked into the cockpit, it was time to leave that life behind.

"It's bad isn't it?" Tom ran into the team's medical bay where Todd stared in disbelief. "You called in base medical, how bad is it?"

"We lost Mor." Todd steadied himself against the wall. "The other two still have a fighting chance. I'm too close to the situation to keep my head level, I felt they could better handle it. It's tough to fail at trying to save your closest friends."

"She's really gone?" Tom looked at the still body in front of him. "Todd, please tell me this is some sick joke."

"I wish it was." The Doctor sighed. "Unfortunately it's not. She's dead Tom, I watched as they attempted to revive her. I can give you a sedative if you want?"

"No, I need to get those sensor readings; we have to figure out what went wrong out there." He let the adrenaline take over. "Let me see what I can find in the shuttle. I need the distraction."

"Don't distract yourself too much." Todd sighed as he watched him leave. "You need to deal with this too. You can't block yourself off emotionally."


	7. The Unit

San Francisco, March 2369

"The Justice is here to see you." He nodded a sign that he would accept the visitor. He had barely spoken a sentence since he arrived 3 days earlier. The guards were put on notice to give him privacy; it wasn't every day they had a fallen legend sitting in one of these cells. He was a special case, the youngest commanding officer of his generation, the latest remarkable officer in the fleet's most prestigious line of officers.

He sat there with his knees pulled up to his chest, looking young and vulnerable, not the confident and accomplished pilot he was. Derrick stood at the door of the cell, biting back tears as he looked at his grandson. The memories of the Zepplein quickly came flooding back. "I'll see what I can do about getting you out of here." He sighed. "Have you talked to your father yet?"

"The Admiral doesn't want anything to do with me." Tom looked up with hurtful eyes. "He called me a disgrace. It's like I'm not ever allowed to make even the tiniest mistake in his eyes."

"I'll talk to him but as stubborn as he is I don't really think I'll get anywhere." The Judge sighed. "Your mother will probably be a little more understanding. Worse comes to worse, you'll stay with me as long as you need to. They can't hold you forever. From the judicial perspective their claims are hogwash."

"Thanks, Pops." The Commander paused as he looked at the old man. "I'm probably the biggest screw up of an officer you've ever seen. Come on, I mean I shouldn't have even started pulling the logs. I just couldn't let it go down the way it was going to go down."

"Trust me you're not Tom." He turned to leave his grandson's cell. "Intelligence is desperate for operatives and they answer to me. You will by all means keep your rank."

"Mac has no clue does she?" Tom took in the news, there were always the rumors about who headed Intelligence. His grandfather's name never even came into conversation. "That is something she would've been using to her advantage all along."

"Not a clue at all. Aunt Katie still marvels over the fact that I've kept it all these years." The Judge paused. "Trust me she's not the only one in the family with secrets. We'll cut a back room deal as I did with her. You're career is perfectly safe."

_San Francisco, June 2369_

"_I'll take full responsibility." He stood up and faced the panel. "I knew that there were defaults in the engines before I sent them out on the test flight."_

"_Why'd you send them on the flight then Commander?" The Vulcan on the panel stared him down with hard eyes. "The test wasn't necessary."_

"_I had nothing but success the last 2 years, I figured the risk would be worth it." Tom sighed. "Yes, I was cocky, but I wanted to go out bigger than I was already going out. I'm willing to take whatever punishment the panel sees reasonable."_

"_Your rank sir." The Junior Officer on the panel spoke. "You cost 3 officers their lives, we think that's appropriate." Tom nodded and accepted his fate he was kissing away a career that would've trumped James Kirk's._

San Francisco, July 2369

"Admiral, I have my transfer orders if you would like to see them." Todd stood nervously at the doorway of Admiral Brian Rosen's office. "I want to thank you for giving me the chance."

The academic stood up from his desk. "I personally requested that you be transferred in as my assistant. You're background is exactly what I need. Plus we need to get you properly trained."

"Properly trained?" Todd looked at him with a petrifying glance. "What do you mean? You just said my background was exactly what you need."

"It is, but there's a certain way we practice intelligence medicine." Brian hit the door to open up his secured lab. "Though saving Tom's ass for the last 4 years counts as part of the training. You do understand that you will still be reporting to him?"

"Yes. Your wife briefed me on all of that when she did my file review last week." The younger doctor sighed. "Will I get to see the rest of them anytime soon?"

"Not physically. They're all so far under that you would barely recognize them." Brian sighed. "You do understand that in secure communications you will always use Butler and nothing else."

"Fully sir." Todd smiled. "How soon until I'm out in the field again?"

"Nine months from now we'll be transferring you to Deep Space 4 where you'll serve as the base CMO." The Admiral smoothed out a wrinkle in his uniform. "It'll allow you to have access to what you need, plus it'll be an easy pull to get things done."

_London, October 2369_

"_It's up to you." The judge leaned back in his chair. "I doubt Owen has said much about you."_

"_How do you think he'll react?" Harlot sipped her cider. "It also makes the difference if he's going to be under my command or not. I'm not expecting him to accept me as his mother instantly."_

"_He sees Julia as his mother. You won't all of a sudden be suffering from parental anxiety." The judge smiled at her. "I don't even want to imagine how he would've turned out if you raised him."_

"_Let's see how he reacts around me first." Harlot swapped the cross in her legs. "He's not stupid, he'll make the connection from a year ago. Granted the act isn't the easiest to pull anymore."_

"_Right." The judge laughed at his subordinate. "Like you don't live for going into a bar and playing a seductive flirt, tell me the truth that's how you got my son wasn't it?"_

"_No, I played sweet and innocent flirt when I was on the Clark." She chuckled. "I wasn't full covert at that time; the seductress has been enhanced over time." Harlot smiled at the young man who stood in the doorway. "Have a seat Captain." She gestured to the empty chair at the table._

"_Tom, you've met Harlot before." Derrick nodded at his grandson. "She is my premier operative when it comes to Federation intelligence. She is the goal of what you want to achieve. Harlot is Section 31." He made the declaration identifying her for what would not exist without her._

"_You were the woman in the bar, the night we had the first success on the trans warp drive." Tom recognized the face. "Something told me you were more than a freighter navigator looking for work. Morch, isn't dead is she?"_

"_No." Harlot paused. "Obviously I'm not at liberty to say where she is Tom. I owe you some other explanations also. I served on the Clark with your father before I went fully covert."_

"_Which explains why there's no record of Matilda Sloan whatsoever in any Starfleet database." Tom sighed. "The Admiral has not a single clue to the fact that you're alive does he."_

"_No." Harlot paused. "For all intensive purposes Matilda Sloan has been dead since you were 5 months old. It killed me not to watch you grow-up, but I went under for the greater good."_

The Outer Banks, January 2370

"This is more about you being a concerned grandfather Pops." Maura Paris plopped up onto the kitchen counter. "You have this devious little look on your face, I promise, promise, and promise some more that I will never pull a Tom. Putting Mom and Dad through that stress again would probably kill them."

"Just concentrate on passing the boards first Kiddo." The judge looked at his granddaughter. "And there is no such thing as pulling a Tom. You are to respect your brother as the Captain he is."

"Or could've been." The recently minted ships counselor glared at her grandfather. "You being Mr. Cynical should know better than to be in denial about the chosen one's fall from grace."

The Captain walked into the kitchen and stared down his little sister. "I didn't fall from grace Maura. Mom and Dad, just think I did. How either of them ever made Admiral still baffles me. You're being assigned secondary orders Lieutenant."

"We need your skills Maura." The judge looked at his baffled granddaughter. "Intelligence is lacking any gifted tactical psychologists, and you are on the way to being the premier of your generation. I need someone that can be hidden in plain sight but evaluate my operatives when needed. Your brother needs someone in his unit that he can unconditionally trust in all circumstances."

"So it's not a myth then. I thought Tom being thrown out so quickly was a little too suspicious." She tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ears. "All the rumors are true; there are plain clothes operatives in every aspect of fleet life. How much additional training am I going to need?"

"Just this briefing." Tom handed his sister the padd. "You're going to crash out at the beach house for a week because you're petrified of the boards and Erika has been a pain and distracting you while you're attempting to study at Mom and Dad's. Pops was worried that you were freaking out and knowing how stressful any board exam could be he thought it would be best."

Derrick interrupted his grandson. "Your brother and Brian will have you trained within those six days. We've set your board exams so you will by no means have any difficulty in achieving a stellar score—which is exactly what your mother expects."

"Okay. Who exactly am I going to be dealing with on a regular basis here?" She arched her back up. "Do I at least get that information?"

"Todd's my right arm; you're going to become my left sis." He sighed. "I need you two as medical officers to evaluate exactly what is going on."

London, May 2370

"_Sit." Derrick barely looked up from his pads as his grandson walked in. "I have an assignment for you. We're in desperate need to get the information; you're still fairly public we need you for it."_

"_Maquis related I assume." The protégé paused. "How long will it take, and how much prep work do I need to do ahead of time?"_

"_Long enough to pay off the tab you owe Sandrine." The Justice slid the pad over to Tom. "We liberally adjusted up the amount; you just have to do a few more weeks to get to the amount that needs to be paid off. I'm just thankful your grandmother taught you how to fly just about anything."_

"_I assume I will have no contact with any of you as long as I'm under." He evaluated the situation. "When I get caught?"_

"_You'll run your unit from a Penal colony." Derrick shrugged his shoulders. "We've done it before without any problems. An operative with your skill and ability can operate from anywhere. Plus it's time you learn to depend more on your sister and Todd."_

The Badlands, August 2370

"I have to say that I'm impressed with the way you run things." The Cardassian agent had put a transmission block into the alcove in which the three talked. "I only wish our people could get our act together in that way."

"It's pure talent on our part. We have people where you would never know people could exist." Tom smiled cockily. "It's worked for 200 years, they're not about to start changing it."

"Plus he's the best at what he does." Ayala quietly added in. "We know how to infiltrate and stay infiltrated as long as necessary. The fact that most people are fully gulliable to the way Intelligence agencies work is just a plus."

"The fact that Starfleet had Chakotay teaching advanced tactical training procedures highlights that." Seska led out a quiet crackle. "Now you'll give my people a full report after you fly tomorrow."

"Of course. Then I'm hoping to have you both out within the next few months." Tom sighed. "Or at least that's the goal, I need Mike to handle other projects, unfortunately he's been in for too long to just randomly disappear."

_Auckland, October 2371_

"_You'll be getting sprung in the next couple of days." Maura had beamed in for the bimonthly visit with her brother. "There is a Starfleet lieutenant on board Chakotay's ship; he is not one of ours. His commanding officer will be coming and requesting your services."_

"_I assume we'll be taking the Maquis into custody." Tom looked at her. "How are you handling it?"_

"_The Cardassians want her out, and we need Mike ASAP." She shook a loose hair away from her face. "Todd and I are both going to be bored out of our minds at a two week long medical conference. We'll readily welcome the distraction."_

"_Who's Ship?" He leaned back in his chair. "The usual faking?"_

"_Yes on their agent, Mike we'll figure something out." The lieutenant commander fixed her hair. The New Zealand humidity was doing nothing for it. "It's Voyager under the command of Kathryn Janeway. She's one of Dad's protégé's so you know exactly what she'll be like."_

"_Clueless. Or might I actually be surprised?" The look on her face told him exactly what to expect. "I'm assuming we'll be leaving from DS9?"_

"_Scott Fitzgerald is the ship's CMO; he'll do the medical stasis. Expect the cold shoulder and him spreading wild rumors about your demise. When you get to a certain point, we'll take the secure out and reverse stasis." Maura paused. "It's Meni Tuker's son he penetrated for S.I. He does not know we exist, and obviously has no clue how penetrated we are."_

"_Okay, that changes somethings." The older brother looked worriedly at his younger sister. "I'm assuming I'll be offered parole in exchange for my cooperation in terms of bringing them in."_

"_Of course. Isn't that the way it always works?" The cynic in her smirked. "We're evaluating safe locations for you now."_


	8. Adjustment

_New Zealand, November 2371_

_He leaned back on his bunk and collapsed. Tom needed to be running his unit actively, not while sitting in a prison camp for his role as terrorist mercenary. He cautiously approached the guard standing at the edge of the yard. "How much longer are we expected to stay out in this humidity?"_

_"It's not expected to rain for at least two days." The guard raised an eyebrow at him, when no one was in earshot he turned back to the prisoner. "Why do you ask?"_

_"An old knee injury has been bothering me, it tends to bother me only when I'm in San Francisco." Tom sighed and raised an eyebrow back. "That's how I know it's going to rain Sir."_

_"I understand, I will let you know if the forecast changes." They had gotten into the routine of the necessary exchange. The Captain was running his unit with just as much authority as he would be if he was running it from a secure location. "Now get back to work on those repairs."_

_Twenty minutes later he leaned back with the hypo spanner, with his skills he could get it done in about a third of the expected time, the rest of the time was nice to sit back and relax. There was a woman staring down at him. "Tom Paris?" He knew who she was, he was told to expect her. "Katherine Janeway. I served with your father on the Al Batani. I was wondering if we could go somewhere and talk."_

_He of course was not going to turn her down, they had never expected the Maquis vessel to go missing, there was too much value on that ship. Starfleet officially wanted a so-so Lieutenant, with little intel experience back. It meant him running his unit from the field and a plush London office, not in the rundown prison cell that had become home._

London, December 2371

The Justice sat across from his self appointed successor and received her glare. "You're going to have to tell her something eventually. I know we joke about her ditzy moments, but you are aware that you've been married to a decently bright woman all these years."

"I know your grandmother has half a brain, it's one of the reasons I fell for her in the first place." Derrick weakly smiled. "I don't know if it's better to simply let her know I'm dying and not tell her anything else. I'm going to have to sell someone out."

She tucked a loose hair behind her ears. "Let's face it Nik's always been a rebel, it would be expected. Tom, we have no clue if he's even alive—it's a safe sellout. I'm going to need Maura, there was a reason we brought her in."

"I'd feel safer with Tom. It won't upset any of your command chains. It works, because we have these command chains. Yes, Nik doesn't know that you're replacing me." He sighed. "Frankly, I'd be happy if she never found out-it'll make life a lot easier in the long run. But you're going to need her we need someone with her access, it's the only way it works, having multiple Admirals in."

"I've known that for the last 20 years Pops." She gave him her grandmother's glare. "You seem to forget as to how well you've trained me. You're just lucky I wasn't raised in the mythology of the Fleet is life."

"In more ways than we can actually say Joni." The Justice stuttered as he spoke. "You're no longer my designated successor, I need you to start really running all this. Katie has been on my case about it for weeks."

"Weeks, try months. I had dinner with her last night—she's worried." She adjusted herself in the seat. "I still can't believe this is all happening, I mean we can hope and pray. But you and I both know that won't get us much."

_San Francisco, April 2372_

"_Mac__kenzie,__we need to talk." Derrick__looked at his wife over the dinner table. It was not the conversation he ever planned on having._

"_I know." Mackenzie gave her the husband the look that would break__most seasoned officers. "I've had access to those indexes for years Derrick. Encryption sequences aren't a total loss for me.__I also know how to keep what you tell me confidential. How long has it been going on?"_

"_Since before I knew you." He tried to keep the details to a minimal. "I was recruited in__law school.__It's been a facet for so long that it's just second nature at this point."_

"_Grandpa Dan?" Mackenzie looked petrified as her husband__nodded__she had always known her grandfather was more than his legendary status. "He was it until the very end wasn't he?"_

"_Greatest fete in Intelligence history.__Your father never even had a clue. But it wasn't him." Derrick rubbed his head. "I've gotten this family out of messes way too many times. All about calling in favors owed to me."_

"_Tom? He kept his rank?" She stared at her husband blankly. "Was the Zeppelin planned? Did I go through all of that for amusement?"_

"_The __Zeppelin was not planned. We were concerned about the consequences of having such an advanced ship out, but not to the point of destroying her.__Caldick__Prime was planned, we wanted most of the__team it was a way to get the 3 of them for covert operations." He sighed as he took a swig of his beer. "Tom we converted over with__his pleading. On paper, he's a reject, but you know he's really not. Yes, it was a__disaster, but even the ones with a stick up their asses wouldn't throw out an officer with half his skills like that."_

"_Owen. Did you ever think about what it did to our son? It took me years to get back his trust."__ Mackenzie let t__he diplomat in her take over. "Please don't tell me our dead son isn't really dead, and that he's been working under covert for the last 55 years."_

"_I was in denial well after the fact. We knew the risk was greater than command ever did, I regret to this day that we sent them in that unprepared." He nodded. "I know this is all throwing you off__Kenz."_

"_Do you really believe that or are you just playing me Derrick?" She stood up and slammed her chair under the table. "It's not like I've__ever been some bimbo trophy wife.__Dammit, you knew they were going to offer me back my rank years before I did. Am I supposed to believe that all these years__have been nothing but lies? That I actually fell in love with a man who never had any intention of loving me back. Please don't tell me you marrying me was part of the master plan from the beginning?"_

"_At least look at me Mackenzie." Derrick sighed. "Did I expect to fall in love with you? Absolutely not! I heard stories early on about how you were a self-entitled brat who always got her way. When you were assigned as my pilot I was planning on not getting to know you at all. I knew better than to fall for unattainable girls with a sense of entitlement. Charlotte and__Xaulch__repeatedly told me that you were a spoiled genius who would come in and blow me away. For 6 weeks I refused to believe them, I wanted a pilot not a princess. Then you walked through the airlock and I realized you weren't your reputation. My training forbid me to have a personal life and keep my career, yet there I was falling in love with you. I risked more than you could imagine."_

_She allowed that tiny insecure part of her to take over. "You really have been in love with me all these years?"_

"_Kenz, there are some things I even won't mess with." He approached his wife cautiously. "I'm being honest with you, because I love you, I fell in love with you the second you handed me your transfer orders. I don't want you discovering things about me after I'm dead, you don't need a tailspin on top of grief."_

"_Why are you even talking this negatively__Der?" She looked at him in shock. "You never worry about death or dying."_

"_Anna__did my physical when you were away." The judge sighed and__reached for his wife's hand. "They__can alleviate the symptoms, but it__looks like I'm finally terminal."_

"_It can't be. They cured you years ago." Mackenzie burst into tears. "You can't leave me alone. Derrick you can't be dying."_

_He took his wife in his arms and consoled her. "I'm not going to let it decimate me__Kenz, believe me I'm going to fight it with all my might.__I'm not nearly as young as I was back then, I know it's going to be an uphill battle."_

Delta Quadrant, January 2373

Tom found himself laughing hysterically after the door of his quarters closed behind him. Three years of planning, three years of simulation, one flight that took 3 of them under. He had done it with her schematics and only a few minor tweaks. The side effects would have been too risky, he was glad they hadn't gone through with of him hadto admit that Todd would've never allowed the flight if he even suspectedhalf the medical complications.

The children, it would kill his mother, 3 grandchildren left in their evolved form on a random distant made the right choice, had they brought them aboard a whole different situation would evolve. His record marked his flight breaking the Warp Threshold. It at least gave him some sense of being for once.

The nights he had bridge duty he realized what he was missing, he would've liked having that center chair. It wouldn't be too late to call rank, the scary part of it was he didn't know if he really wanted it. He was flying, that was his first love,Tomknew he should be grateful for that. However, Captain Thomas Paris, master operative yearned for the life he could've had.

_Near Andoria, March 2373_

_The young psychiatrist collapsed onto the floor of her quarters and tried to bite back her tears. Maura was still trying to digest the news. It wasn't an act, he was really gone. She didn't even notice that someone had overridden her lock out code. The lieutenant was too consumed in her own grief._

_The ship's doctor came and looked at her with shock. "You can vent to someone else with your own problems Maura. It's a bullshit excuse that counselors don't need to be counseled. Doc just let me know, you're not fully throwing apart yet?"_

_"I'll be okay." She sighed. She was a Paris, just like her brother her duties and career always came before everything else. She could have her collapse when she returned to Terra for the memorial service. "I just need to process it, I'll be fine by my next duty shift Commander."_

_"You're not going to be fine Maura." Todd sighed. He knew what they were like, his best friend had almost killed himself on his last undercover mission. He picked her up off the floor and walked the two of them over to her couch. "By all means you are thankfully not Tom. Your parents don't need to go through a child breaking down again."_

_Maura sobbed into his shoulder. "Todd he wasn't supposed to die, he was supposed to be immortal. I mean it's a legend we're talking about. They're supposed to be like Mac and live forever. Do you think he ever told Mac."_

_"I'm sure he told her and your parents some." Todd sighed. "I doubt they know how far deep he went in. What we do is something that most people don't need to know about." He held her close. "Maura let me help you. Quit being so fucking stubborn, you barely showed emotion when you lost Keith. No one's going to think any less if you cry over the fact that you lost your beloved grandfather. You withholding grief isn't normal."_

San Fran, May 2373

The Director knew what she had to do. She just had to get through the day of goodbyes first. She wasn't fleet like her cousins, she would be allowed to show her grief and she was planning on doing so. The less anyone suspected the better. She sipped her martini asshe stood out onher grandmother's deck. The young officer braced herself against the railing. "He's really gone isn't he Joni?"

She sighedand wiped away a few tears. "I think we'll be in disbelief for a whileMaura. Mac will outlive us all, but she's the spawn ofSatan, it's expected. I wonder what their marriage reallywas,he named me the executor of his estate."

"That's something we could've expected out of Pops, there was so much Mac didn't know about him." Maura allowed her training to come through. "He was such an enigma at times. He taught us so much that we couldn't help but worship him. It's just that I don't think anyone even knew the slightest thin about him. That's what scares me."

"That's what he was. There were elements of his life that will always be a mystery." The director nodded. "It was who he was, and I really think there's a little of him reflected in all of us. Let's face it, if all the grandchildren were Mac, there would be such civil upheaval that I really think humanity would cease to exist."

_Delta Quadrant, July 2374_

_Seven of Nine, Tom had the confirmation for what his gut had known from the minute she came aboard. The Raven had confirmed it, she had been Annika Hansen as a child. He was going to try to avoid the topic as long as possible. He wanted to belive that there was another Annika Hansen out there, who's parents were researching the Borg. His background told him he shouldn't be so hopeful._

_He didn't remember much, just his mother spending hours pouring over files trying to establish what information they had been able to obtain. Tom was in grade school when they went missing. The older cousin with the brilliant but troubled mind, his equally driven wife, the baby girl that his aunt and uncle were hoping they would at least leave with them when they went on their wild goose chase. The Raven was in front of him, it was no question it was one of the family's ships._

_"I won't inform Captain Janeway that I have this. We keep it a private matter for a reason." Tuvok handed him a data chip. "I don't think your grandmother or father have read them all the way through. I know Charlotte and Spock both have. You might want to read them Mr. Paris—I did years ago. Having grown up around Maggie, my mother thought it was imperative."_

_"Now, you definitely sound like one of them." Paris smiled at him. "What do we do about telling Seven? Do you think she could handle it? I mean this isn't something that any of us ever advertise. Are we really that ashamed of what they did out there?"_

_"No. I'm just going with the Tucker women logic that each generation of our officers want to make their own history." The Vulcan sighed. "My mother after she retired never used Tucker. Your father doesn't walk around advertising that he's Mackenzie Reed Archer's son. Hell, your grandmother doesn't advertise that she's Reed-Archer. It's what we do, we use it to our advantage when we need to."_

_"And now you truly sound like a Tucker. Say that in front of anybody else on this crew and they'd think you were suffering some Vulcan mental illness. Paris tried to contain his laughter. "Seven, she's already petrified out of her mind, this might actually scare her to death. Plus, I know if we ever have contact with home and they find out, they'll tie my ankles from the bumper of the clunker and take it for a flight out to Pluto."_


	9. Questions

_August 2375, Delta Quadrant_

_The Doctor had been on one of his ships. Tom knew that the minute he started giving descriptions of it. They were at__war,__it meant his people were going nonstop. A major part of him wanted him to be back there on the front. If there was a way to get them back he would be determined to figure it out._

_They would know__the files were__found. The family could be certain that the files would remain secure. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, he had opened them and started reading. Growing up, he had heard repeatedly that he was Dan Reed reincarnated. Reading the details, it made him realize that was not who he wanted to be._

_He knew it wasn't his team anymore. The__Prothemus, it had been their ship, the news had come in of the lost crew just hours before her wedding. _"_A little engrossed are we Tom?" B'Elanna Torres slid in across from him. "You seem to be devouring the news from home."_

"_Okay, let's see my best friend, who at one point served under me made Captain." Tom let the disappointment show in his face. "On top of it he just married my sister, I would've never predicted that. It's an unspoken__rule,__you just don't go there. Everyone is still coping with the fact that my grandfather is actually dead."_

"_That's a lot to take in about 30__seconds,__I'll give you that much Tom." She smiled at him. "But at least you know your family still cares about you. It must be reassuring for your father to know you're not screwing up out here."_

"_As long as I'm alive and far away they can deal with it. Maura's made full Commander, they're too busy relishing in that__fact. Medical officers rarely make full Commander in under a decade—she's picking up the slack from my fall." He sighed, leaving out the news of his mother's fifth star. "I'm out here I can't be that much of an embarrassment."_

_"Your mother?"__B'Elanna looked at him with interest. "Is she the typical Fleet spouse that believes fleet comes first and family comes second? I'm assuming a senior Admiral's wife would automatically think like that."_

_"I wouldn't know she went AWOL when I was a baby. I wouldn't know her if she came and sat next to me. My step-mother managed to balance fleet and family, which alone makes her an enlightened officer. But she made Admiral three years before my father, so it doesn't say much." The Commandment's son knew how to keep a straight face.__"She raised us so we wouldn't be constantly cracking under pressure. But, in the end she's just as bad if not worse than my father. All Admirals put the fleet first, everything else second. It comes with the promotion."_

August 2375, Outer Banks

The Commander looked up when she noticed something was blocking her sun. "3 weeks, you promised me 3 freaking weeks of peace Aunt Nikki. We've been married 5 days, and Todd's already been called in."

Nikki plopped her beach chair down next to her younger cousin. "First of all, Starfleet Medical needed his expertise. If you were a family member of that poor kid, you would want Todd doing the surgery. Captain Jackson is still fully much on vacation; Dr. Jackson has a higher oath and that means saving lives. It was nothing to do with us." The Admiral smiled. "I had a free afternoon, and figured I could use the sun as much as you could. I think it's a trait we must have inherited from Pops. It's definitely not a Reed-Archer trait, I've never seen Aunt Katie or Mac go near sun."

"In other words, you wanted to brief me on what we know from the Prothemus and figured you would never actually be able to get me into headquarters?" Maura reached for her tea. "What did we get from the Voyager EMH? How many did I lose?"

"Just Scott. The op Tom didn't know about is still on board, something tells me the two of them figured it out and are scrutinizing her every move. Mike's in one piece, field commissioned 3 ranks lower than he is." Nikki sighed. "I'm so tempted to tell your parents some of what is going on. I just thank my lucky stars that your father is so clueless sometimes."

"Has he always been like that, or was it the incident?" She sighed. "From what I've heard he came back a different person."

"He was affected by it. It didn't change him massively." Nikki leaned back in her beach chair. "But, he's a mediocre officer. Any other parents and he would have never made Captain, Admiral would've been a far off dream. He knows it too. There was a reason he wanted me as his right arm, and it's the same reason I stayed loyal to him for those 13 years. I could've made Captain 8 years earlier than I did, but I had the sense of duty."

"I know. It was protection more than anything, you kept him from messing up too much." The physiatrist in her knew that her father the most insecure multiple star in the fleet. "Though, I bet even you couldn't protect him from Harlot."

"You know as much as I know that it was Pops." Nikki let a grin escape. "He wanted a grandson that he could mold in his own image. It was one of his most perfectly executed operations ever. It got him your brother, and it was the perfect back story for converting the woman who by far is the best operative of all time. Your brother deserves better than that."

"Of course, no one needs to know that their birth was a full out Section 31 operation." The Commander rolled her eyes. "How are Aunt Katie and Uncle Jake holding up?"

"They never gave up hope." Nikki smiled warmly at the joy her adoptive parents were facing. "They're coping with accepting the fact. To lose not one but both sons to the same monsters; it makes me shudder."

_San Francisco, October 2375_

"_Would you come to bed finally?" Julia groggily stood at the door to her husband's study. "The files can wait to the morning, and you need sleep O."_

"_And the pot is still calling the kettle black." He looked up from the pads. "I want to at least have half an idea of what we're looking at. I mean he's still alive Jules, it's redemption for the way I reacted."_

"_Nothing's going to change the way we raised our kids." She plopped down onto the couch and curled her feet up. "He's a good officer- you and I both know that. I'm sure he's a trusted member of the senior staff."_

"_If he wasn't my son, he would've never been ousted like that. The name did it to him." Owen sighed. "At 24 he was three times the officer I could ever be. He should be sitting behind a desk as Admiral now, not flying a tin can halfway across the galaxy."_

"_Did the EMH make any reference to the files?" Julia yawned. "Obviously if they have Annika and they have the Raven, the files must be there."_

"_No, which means either they were destroyed or Tom and Tuvok secured them." He put the pads down. "They're bad aren't they?"_

"_That's the understatement of Federation history." She had been one of the few to see most of them. "I don't think she was ever fully stable. And having your grandfather sent her over an unheard of dark edge. They almost make me understand why Kathleen fled. I would've thought twice about my choice to be both a mother and officer if I read them before giving birth."_

"_Kathleen fleeing had nothing to do with you as a mother. She was angry and resentful from the time we started dating." His step-daughter had never been an easy person. "Nothing could've changed that. I mean, she didn't even acknowledge the invitation to Maura's wedding. That's just inhumane."_

"_I wish half the time we didn't acknowledge the invitation to Maura's wedding." Julia let a small smile escape. "It turned our sane level headed daughter into a monster. Happy and blushing, but a monster."_

_He stood up from his desk with a smile. "You raising her or not, there's a lot of Matilda in Maura. Makes me wonder some days what they would be like if she was around to raise them. Maybe we should at least get some sleep. What time are you out in the morning?"_

"_We're leaving at 0800." She pulled herself up off the couch. "Did I ever tell you how much I hate this? This one was a 31 order. I would like to find out who's in charge of those bastards one day. They freaking answer to no one, yet give me nothing but headaches. If they're going to do their job they can have their own martial."_

"_You know you never will. They're the best at what they do." He led his wife back to their bedroom. "To be honest, I wouldn't want to know, covert still scares the shit out of me."_

"_Part of me hopes that they have Tom." She sighed. "That our son did not crash and burn the way he did. I know that's just wishful thinking."_

"_Could be. They're system is designed so the ops don't even know each other." He watched as she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. "All that matters is that he's alive and healthy Jules. That's all I care about."_

Voyager, April 2376

Sitting in the brig cell, Tom wondered how much his parents had actually discovered. His sister and best friend were two of their best, by all means they were keeping whatever it was quiet.

"You know when they find out about this demotion, you're going to hear about it for all eternity." Ayala leaned back against the control panel. "Maura probably will name her first born Ensign Thomas."

"Don't you start with me either Mikey." He glared at his operative and sighed. "I know that I should've called it. I could've set the array to self destruct and had us home in a matter of days. Part of me was half tempted to laugh in Janeway's face yesterday and call rank. The look on her face would've been classic."

"You would've had to out me at the same time. You wouldn't trust her to serve as your XO, you and I both know that." The lieutenant sighed. "IT was bad enough him finding out Tuvok and Seska, could you have imagined what would've happened if he found out I was an infiltrator of infiltrators."

"You've been under way too long, I wouldn't have dreamed of outing you." Tom leaned back on the bunk in the brig. "We were still planning on how to get you out safely and quietly."

"Dying again might be fun." The Betazoid let out a crackle. "I was thinking maybe Xrillian this time. The human thing is getting boring, I'm just lucky no one has caught on yet. That or I've become way too good at disguising the telepathic ability"

"The suppressants work, we know that. Thankfully, the doctor wasn't programmed to recognize the active ingredients. And as long as you don't pull a Seska, your secret is perfectly safe." The Captain rolled his eyes. "If we make it home and we both want active duty still, I'm sure Todd will be more than happy to do the surgery. You're going to make me call you sir aren't you?"

"Of course I am Ensign." Ayala smiled widely. "Forget a court martial, I'd get killed if I don't. They're going to want some consolation that they couldn't witness the single pip themselves. Though, it might do you good to spend the usual amount of time as an Ensign. The first time it was barely 4 months, that's totally unfair."

"I won't call it because of my so called relationship." Tom sighed. "I guess I should have known better than to get too involved. There's so much she doesn't know."

"Why do you think I've kept my distance Tom? It's not like my cover was a real marriage. Your feelings for B'Elana are not what you had." He nodded knowingly at the man he still considered his commanding officer. "Mor was heartbroken about you when we first went under. I know you're still furious at Todd, but the two of them are hiding so much together. There's a reason most of us have those incestuous relationships."

"I only wish I told her earlier. The first month we were working I had already fallen hard for her." Tom sighed. "Would it have kept her out and public, probably not, but it would've been nice to have her even if it was for only a few days. She's?

"Andorian." Ayala smiled. "The plan was to get her onto Romulus to assist with the reunification efforts. I'm assuming that was the reason we had a ship out there. Hopefully."

"Hopefully." Tom took the news in with some hope. "The doctor didn't say anything about a dead Andorian or Bolian. That is unless they found a way to change her again."

_Jupiter Station, May 2376_

_The Commander sighed as she finally walked back to her quarters. It was time for two solid weeks of sleep. They were falling apart on the front, the psychological implications were overwhelming. Maura haphazardly tossed her bags down in their living room. Her husband stood there with a big giant grin on his face. "What's wrong? I look like this and you seem way too happy to see me. I know you didn't miss me that much."_

"_Ensign Paris. Would you believe that there's an Ensign Thomas Eugene Paris piloting a tin can 55,000 light years away from here?" Todd picked his wife up and swung her around. "Ensign! He's been demoted to freaking Ensign! I mean that has to put a smile on your face."_

"_I would've killed to see Mom and Dad's faces when they heard it." She let him put her down as she burst out laughing. "Why he never called it is beyond me? I wonder if I can declare him insane and make that a permanent rank demotion."_

"_Don't you dare." The doctor calmed down from his hysterical laughter. "We should have files within a day or two, you up for the review?"_

"_As long as there are no cases of traumatic stress I'm up for it." She smiled as she walked towards the bathroom. "As soon as I take a long hot shower we need to start trying. We're so naming our first child Ensign."_

"_As long as it's a grandchild your mother won't be complaining." He watched her shed the uniform. "He's involved with one of the former Maquis. I didn't think he had that in him."_

"_It's Tom we're talking about. You know how often he brought girls home from the bars, what did you expect?" Maura called out over the water. "The poor thing probably has no clue as to what he is."_

"_Or who your parents are." Todd plopped onto the couch. "Could you imagine finding out that the most powerful woman in the fleet is your mother-in-law?"_

Voyage, March 2377

He had crashed onto the couch with a beer and the team files. The chimes on his door rang, the life that he wanted back would have to wait. Tom was not the least bit surprised to see the former drone in front of him as pale as a ghost. "Seven, are you okay? Who said what?"

"My grandfather." Almost an hour after reading the letter, she hadn't even begun to comprehend any of it. "I mean I knew my grandparents were officers but . . ."

"You weren't expecting them, there's a reason we generally don't acknowledge it. It takes some of the pressure off." He sighed "Aunt Katie and Uncle Jake never lost hope. It's just the way they are."

"You never lost your commission Tom." Seven had an idea from the language in the letter that the prison term wasn't a prison term. "You're never going to actually disclose your actual rank are you?"

"Let's just say if I did it would mean displacing the Senior Staff. Plus, it would ruin any chance of keeping my career on its track when we return home." He smiled. "I know its driving my father crazy, and that alone makes it worth it. You obviously know from Uncle Jake's letter."

"The Borg knew the sense of irony in that one." The former drone smiled. "My grandfather's primary work is on cybernetic beings isn't it?"

"Starfleet's foremost expert. Has been and always will be. They met when he was one of Pops' students, and Aunt Katie was handling a toddler crisis." Paris smiled. "I spent a lot time around them when I was little. They were two admirals who always had time and energy for us to be around. They saw my sister and me as the grandchildren they never got the chance to spoil."

"Am I their only grandchild?" She looked at him in awe, still taking in the news. "Or did my aunts and uncle have children?"

"Melanie is the same age as my baby sister. Aunt Nikki and Uncle Brian waited until they had permanent postings to have a family. The two of them were inseparable for most of their childhood. J.P.'s sons were a few years older than I was. I never really knew them well." He paused. "You're going to need time to digest this all."

"Yes I will." Seven smiled. She watched him walk towards the replicator and order a pizza. "Should I even broach it with the rest of the ship?"

"The only one that knows is Tuvok, his mother's a Tucker. He keeps it more quiet than anyone. B'Elanna thinks I'm a random Admiral's son." Paris laughed as he brought the pizza to the table. "It would hold me to a different standard. Being an Admiral's son leads to pressure, being the Reed-Archer takes that pressure and multiplies it by 200. Even Spock never tells anyone, and he was the son that Dan Reed never really had. At least eat something real Seven, you might find the comfort in something chewy. We usually do."

"My grandfather mentioned the Archer files?" Seven paused. "Do you know anything about that? I didn't see anything in the data base, but that doesn't mean they weren't on the Raven."

"We have them secured. If you would like to see them they definitely have their merit." Paris sat down across from her. "It was sort of a deal that if any of us ever found them they would be automatically secured. If their contents ever went public, Federation History would be rewritten. That's how damaging she was in her psychotic state."

"From what I gathered Daniel Reed never married, he just kept his son and his career on an equally balanced scale." Seven sighed. "There's more to it isn't there?"

"From what I got out of Pops is that Grandpa Dan knew something wasn't right, that she was a fully different person after giving birth. Back then a baby on a ship was unheard of, and it wasn't like there were bases all over." Paris sighed. "She tucked her month old son into his crib and told her fiancée that she was off to her office to finish crew reports. Within the hour, she had disabled the warp core and was gone. It was almost 20 years before they found the shuttle. The logs basically set out that she was going to try to find the cybernetic beings that were referenced in her father's logs. The woman was psychotically driven to go on a wild goose chase."

"I'll take your word on it." Seven sighed. "I had a feeling they contained facts that were beyond classified. I'm not ready to see humanity at its worse."

"The crazy gene skips a generation." He cracked a laugh. "The psychotic part isn't the worst. It's the stuff that stayed fully classified for all these years. It's what they did, the Borg, the Ferengi, changing the genetic make-up of the Klingon upper class, faking the death of a decorated engineer so his child could grow up hidden. If anybody besides family knew, the whole UFP would be thrown into a massive upheaval."


End file.
